New Moon Rewound
by Helena Mira
Summary: A/U: This story alters the plot so that the primary storyline of New Moon never happened. Curious? Read on. A revision of an earlier one-shot. Completely canon-friendly, but no Edward-Bella-Jacob triangle. No Jacob bashing, I promise. Will there be a Renesmee? To be perfectly honest, I don't know. Rating just changed to T.
1. Nothing but a Dream

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

_Author's note: This is a modest revision of the original one-shot._

**Scene: Near the end of New Moon before Bella goes to the Cullens to have them vote on her mortality.**

**Chapter 1: Nothing but a Dream**

I stretch out my legs from the little ball I had curled up in to sleep, yawn, and turn over. The last thing that I remember is Edward carrying me from the car to my bedroom over Charlie's vociferous protestations. To say that my Dad was really pissed, would be putting it mildly. Then Edward kissed me tenderly on the forehead.

"I'll be back when it's safe, love," he whispered softly.

I didn't hear his silent feet as they flew down the steps, but I did hear Charlie holler, loudly enough for the whole neighborhood to hear, "And don't you ever set a foot inside my door again!"

Then I floated back to unconsciousness, a myriad of other, older images assaulting me.

My eighteenth birthday. What a disaster! A paper cut. A rabid Jasper flying at me. Broken glass and blood flowing down my arm. Everyone else leaving the room. Carlisle stitching me up. Edward kissing me as if his life depended on it when he leaves me that night, desperate, wanting.

His coldness and distance in school. Watching sports with Charlie. Taking pictures. The difference a day makes when I look at them after they are printed. Edward before and after. The final scene: being left alone in the woods. I can't go any farther with that one. Fade to black.

Fast forward four months.

Adrenalin rush. Motorcycles and Jacob. Warm sodas from a paper bag. Jacob's garage. Jacob's betrayal. We can't be friends anymore. It's not you, it's me. A pack of wolves saving me from Laurent. And then his secret. Jacob and Paul flying at each other in the shapes of enormous wolves as they battle.

Emily's house and blueberry muffins. Victoria coming after me. Spring break at La Push. More depression. Jumping off the cliff. Seeing Edward one last time before I drowned. Jacob saving me. Alice coming to Forks because she thought that I was dead. The phone call. Jacob's second betrayal sending Edward off to his near death in Volterra.

Going to Volterra. Facing the Volturi. Watching Edward writhe in pain as Jane stuns him. Alice's promise that I would be a vampire soon. The sounds of the screams as the unsuspecting humans enter to feed the thirsty monsters within. The long flight home. Sitting wrapped in Edward's arms. Clinging to him as Charlie tried to drag me away from him.

He is my life. Charlie doesn't understand. Nobody understands, not even Edward.

Hit rewind.

Flashback to the beginning. No! I can't bear to see this story unfold before my eyes again. I am shaking.

It was my birthday, all because of my stupid birthday that I lived in excruciating pain for seven months. No more birthdays. Never again. Alice will keep her promise. Eighteen forever.

Then I take a deep breath and realize that I am finally waking up. He's here. Edward, my love, my life is right here in my bedroom. It's dark. How long have I been sleeping? Oh, who cares? He is with me and I can't believe it.

"Edward!" I say, feeling groggier than usual as I wake up. "You're here!"

"Where else would I be?" he asks. "I was lying here when you curled up next to me last night. And you know that I'll be here until Charlie wakes up."

"Charlie!" I groan. "What will I say to him? What's the cover story? I need to know what to tell him."

Edward stares at me as if I have lost my mind.

"Bella," he says carefully. "Are you sure that you are okay? I mean, you had a restless night. You said my name over and over again. You were looking for me. You wanted me to come back."

"Of course, I wanted you to come back!" I answer. "You go and disappear for over six months. How did you think that I could live without you? And all because of . . . "

But before I can say another word, he pulls me up and around so that I am facing him. He looks at me intently with something like fear in his amber-colored eyes. He slowly traces my face with his hand and softly kisses my forehead before holding me tight in his ice-cold arms. Home, my home, he's here and I'm home. I wrap my arms around him and nestle into his smooth, perfect chest.

"I haven't been anywhere, love," he says gently. "Except right here by your side. Where did you think that I had gone?"

I pull away and stare into his eyes wildly.

"To the Volturi, remember?" I say as my voice takes on a hysterical note. "Alice saw me jump off the cliff. And then Rosalie told you that I was dead, so you went to the Volturi and . . . "

"The Volturi?" he asks puzzled. "How do you know about the Volturi?

"The picture!" I say. "In Carlisle's study, you showed it to me the first time I visited. Remember? The closest thing our people have to royalty, you said. And then when we were watching _Romeo and Juliet, _you said that if you ever wanted to die because I died, you would go to them. They would destroy you if you provoked them. Do you really think that I would make something like that up?"

"Bella, honey," he says softly. "Keep your voice down or you will wake up Charlie. I don't know what you are talking about. We haven't watched _Romeo and Juliet_ together. We are reading it in class. Yesterday, you said that you wanted to watch it today."

"Today?" I say slowly. "What day is it? I mean, what year is it?"

"It's September 13, 2008," he replies looking more bewildered than ever. "It's your eighteenth birthday, but I know that you didn't want me to remember it. It sounds like you blocked it out too."

"But . . . "

And I can't continue because the tears are falling. I must be crazy. Why is he denying that the last seven months happened? I thought that vampires had these amazing, super-perfect memories. Even if he could get me to believe it, what about everyone else? What about Jacob? Would he ever forgive me for the way that I have treated him?

"But, what, Bella?" he asks me, as he takes my face in his hands. "You have to tell me. I can't read your mind, remember? Now what is all of this talk about Volterra and me leaving you?"

But I refuse to believe him.

"Didn't Charlie kick you out when you carried me I last night?" I ask. "Didn't he tell you never to step inside his door again?"

He looks puzzled for a moment and then he drops his hands and chuckles.

"Bella, he's wanted to tell me that ever since we got back from Phoenix," he says. "But the farthest that he's gone is imposing a curfew on you, or rather us. He's afraid that if he gets any stricter then you'll move out, today in fact. He's only been holding his fire because he doesn't want you to run away with me today. He figures that when you turn eighteen, you will claim your freedom."

"But I'm already eighteen," I say in confusion. "I turned eighteen over six months ago on that horrible night when . . . "

"Bella," he says gently. "Try to focus, love. The most horrible night, or should I say nights, occurred when I was in the hospital waiting for you to wake up from James's attack on you. But I've been with you every night ever since. I'm never going to let you out of my sight again."

"No, no," I moan. "This is the dream. This is the nightmare. After everything that I've been through you are denying that it ever happened. What is it? Are you trying to make me think that I'm crazy? Is this a ploy to keep Alice from changing me like she promised the Volturi that she would?"

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he doesn't answer my question.

"Bella," he says. "Look at this."

He pulls out his cell phone and flips it open.

"13 September 06"

"I must be crazy!" I say as I lean forward and bury my face in his shoulder.

"You. Are. Not. Crazy," he says emphatically holding me closer. "It sounds like you had a very vivid nightmare though."

I look back at the time on the cell phone again.

"4:03 am PDT."

"But I wasn't asleep that long," I say puzzled. "How could all that time have passed while I was dreaming?"

"You're asking the wrong person," he says wryly. "Remember? I do not sleep, perchance I do not dream."

I grimace.

"Ha! Ha!" I say. "Now you're laughing at me."

"This is not funny," he replies seriously. "It has clearly disturbed you very much. Why don't you tell me about it?"

It's odd, but the more I wake up, the more the dream slips away. But about ten minutes ago, it was so vivid, so real. I'm finally beginning to realize that maybe, just maybe, I _am _waking up and _that _was the dream.

"It started today," I say. "I mean when I woke up or will wake up or . . . "

"Stop trying to reconcile the time with what you think was reality," he says. "Just tell me the story."

"Okay," I say. "Anyway, I woke up on my birthday, and Charlie had a surprise for me. He and Renee had gotten together to give me a birthday present, even though I told them not to, a camera and a photo album."

"There's your first proof that it's a dream," he says. "They've collaborated to give you a gift, but it isn't a camera or an album."

"What is it?" I ask.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise," he says.

"Will I like it?" I ask.

He looks thoughtful.

"Well, I think so, but that's more of a question for Alice," he says. "I'm still not very good at predicting your reactions to things."

"Alice!" I hiss distracted by the mere mention of her name. "It was all her fault!"

"What did she do?" he asks worriedly.

"She decided to throw me a birthday party," I say. "Now tell me that's not true."

"Okay," he admits reluctantly. "That's true, but it's also very much in keeping with her personality. She's planning on ambushing you at school today with the invitation."

"Hah!" I say. "That's exactly how it happened."

"And _will_ happen," he insists. "But that's just Alice."

"Well, she's not getting her way!" I say vehemently. "I know how it turns out and I'm not going."

"Okay," he says. "No party. She'll be disappointed, but I'll back you up."

"Good," I say. "Then Jasper won't try to kill me."

"Whaaat?" he drags out the word.

"You brought me to the party after we watched _Romeo and Juliet _together and Charlie brought home a pizza, which you didn't eat of course," I explain. "He wanted to watch a ball game."

"Of course," he agrees. But he watches one ball game or another every night."

"And naturally, Alice went all out with candles, glass bowls full of roses, and a huge cake that no one but me can eat," I continue, ignoring the ball game comment. "Then there were presents and while I am opening one, I got a paper cut and a drop of blood fell on the carpet. Jasper hurled himself across the room at me and you all could barely stop him."

Now I have to stop for breath and Edward starts shaking his head.

"What?" I ask.

"In a minute," he says. "Finish your story."

"Anyway, you threw me into the glass bowls and a huge gash opened up in my arm. There was blood everywhere. You all had to go outside to get away from the smell," I continue. "You all left one by one because you couldn't stand it. After Carlisle stitched me up, you drove me home but you got all weird on me.

"Then three days later, you told me that you were leaving me for my own good. Your whole family was moving away and it would be as if you never existed. You even took the pictures that I had taken of you away from me."

"With the camera that you are not getting from your parents," he finishes. "Oh, Bella! That _is _a horrible nightmare. And it ends with us in Volterra?"

"No, it ends when you carried me into the house because I had managed to stay awake the whole flight back from Volterra and couldn't see straight, let alone walk straight," I say.

"And that's why Charlie has banished me from the house," he finishes.

"Essentially," I say. "But other than getting the birthday present wrong, why else couldn't that have happened?"

"Well, there are a number of flaws in your premise," he replies. "But I suspect that the root of those is your fear of losing me."

"Flaws?" I ask suspiciously. "Such as?"

"The first is that a single drop of blood would not be enough to set Jasper off," he says. "Especially since I always insist that he gorge himself on blood before you come over to visit. The second is that such a scenario, even if it were true, would not be enough to send me away from you.

"The third is that even if I was crazy enough to want to do that, my whole family wouldn't leave with me. In fact, they would try to talk me out of it, except for Rosalie maybe. But the rest of them think that you are the best thing that ever happened to me. I couldn't go anywhere away from you if I wanted to. And you know that they're right.

"And finally, with Alice's future sight, there is no way that she would ever insist that you come to a party where you could potentially get killed, especially by Jasper, and I might leave you with the intention of never returning."

"She would see that?" I ask. "But paper cuts aren't decisions. They are random acts of fate, or in my case, clumsiness."

"Love, _I _can see you getting a paper cut and I don't have visions of the future," he says. "But Alice certainly could, or at least the dire repercussions if it happened. You know how closely she watches Jasper's future. She doesn't look out for anyone the way that she looks out for him. And you know it."

"So then the dream could not possibly have been true?" I ask. "Or come true?"

"No, it could not," he says. "Especially now that you're not coming to a party at my house tonight. In fact as we speak, Alice is probably howling in frustration because she sees her plans fading away. I dread facing her when I get back home. But are you really so afraid that I will leave you that you would imagine that such an incident could send me away?"

"Edward," I say with a sigh. "I have been waiting for you to leave me since you came back to school after that little sojourn you took to Alaska the day that you met me, and then almost killed me. You kept dropping all these little hints about leaving me until you came right out in and said it in the hospital in Phoenix. Remember? You told me to go live with Renee in Florida. _So that you couldn't hurt me anymore! _And then only refused to stay with me no matter what."

"Bella, hush," he says gently. "You have had selective hearing since I met you. Everything that I have said has always been about how it would be _better_ for you if I weren't in your life. I have _never_ _wanted_ to stay away. I may have felt that I _had_ to stay away. But now it's too late."

"Too late?" I ask.

"Too late. You're stuck with me," he says. "Just out of curiosity, what did I give you for your birthday in your dream?"

"A CD recording that you had made of your piano compositions," I say. "It was a gift from you and Alice."

"That's a very good idea," he admits. "I wish I had thought of it. And I guessed that you realized that I would not be able to allow the occasion to pass without giving you something. But actually, it's really quite a different gift, sentimental like the CD, but very much different."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"After my mother passed away, she left behind a collection of beautiful jewelry," he replies. "Some time I will tell you the story of how I acquired it, but it would take too long now. I have given Alice and Esme a few little trinkets, but I really have a hard time parting with any of them.

"I have one that I had planned to give to you later today. I figured that you might accept it graciously because it did not cost me a penny, other than to get it cleaned. But since you are awake and I'm still trying to convince you that I would never leave you, I think that it's more appropriate that I give it to you now."

"Are you sure that you want to part with it?" I ask.

"I don't feel like I'm parting with it," he says. "Because I never want to be apart from you. I feel that it will still always be with me. So here it is. This is all the proof that you need to know that I will never leave you again."

I swallow hard as he puts a velvet box in my hand.

"I know that you don't like a fuss," he says tenderly. "But this isn't a fuss. It's just you and me. I didn't even wrap it, so it's not a real birthday gift. Let's call it a token. No, more than that it's a symbol of my love for you. And because it's a hand-me-down, I really and truly haven't spent any money on _it_."

I slowly open the box and see a dime-size crystal heart attached to a thick gold chain.

"This represents _my_ heart because it is as silent as it is," he says quietly. "I hope that you will always wear it so that my heart is next to yours."

"Always," I breathe, as I lift it out and turn it around to catch the vague light coming in the window. "It's gorgeous. Even in this dim light it sparkles, just like you."

"And it's hard and cold," he adds a little sadly. "Just like my heart, which stopped beating almost a century ago."

"Never," I reply. "You and your heart, for that matter, are never hard and cold to me. And I love the crystal heart. It's exquisite. And once you put it on me, I will never take it off."

Relieved, probably more by my easy acceptance of the gift rather than my belief that the other stuff was all a bad dream, he takes the necklace from my hand and I twist around so that he can put it on me. I want it on me. I want to feel the cool metal around my neck where it will always stay.

After he hooks it on, I can feel his icy, smooth lips on my neck. I lean back against his chest and he wraps me in his arms. We sit there for a long time, just enjoying the moment and the silence in one another's presence. There are no words to express the depth of our feelings for each other. Finally, the light of the weak and murky sun begins to peek over the horizon, and Edward sighs.

"It's time for me to leave," he says. "You're working at Newton's this afternoon, right?"

"Yes," I answer regretfully.

"Then I will see you at school," he says, as he gets up and goes to the window. "What are you going to tell Charlie about the necklace?"

I shrug.

"I'm going to tell him that you gave it to me last night and told me not to open it until this morning," I reply. "It's not that big a deal."

"You really don't know much about jewelry, do you?" he asks.

"Not really," I say. "Why?"

"Because that's not cubic zirconia," he says and slips out the window before I have time to close my mouth, which is now hanging open in amazement.

I walk over to the mirror and look at my reflection. The heart is perfectly centered in the hollow of my neck between my collarbones. It is no longer cold, but warmed by my body temperature. And now that I look at it more closely and feel its weight, I realize that it couldn't be anything but a real diamond. It must be worth a fortune. Who knew that Edward's human family had been so wealthy? But then again, who cares?

Absentmindedly, I pick up the box and notice a slip of paper caught in the side. It is old and yellowed with age. I carefully open it so it doesn't tear. I want to be able to give it back to Edward, as I am sure that it is a memory of his parents. In fact, I'm surprised that he forgot to take it out.

_"My beloved Elizabeth,_ (I read) "_May this heart lay close to your heart each day and night of your life. I hope within a year to give you another diamond to wear to proclaim our eternal love to the world. With deepest affection and admiration, Edward Masen. On the occasion of your eighteenth birthday."_

I lift the paper up to my lips to kiss it and a gentle fragrance rises from the page. It smells of my Edward, as if he had taken it out and read it many times. And then I realize that he did not leave it behind accidentally. And then I know.

Edward will not be leaving me ever. this is his shy and almost awkward declaration. As if he couldn't find the words to say what he wanted to say himself. So just as I have his mother's precious gem, I have his father's words to her, the very same words that he would like to say to me, but can't. I smile and look at the clock and see that it is nearly six. No doubt Charlie will be looking for me soon so that he can give me the gift that Edward isn't sure that I will like.

I hurry to get ready school, wondering if Mrs. Newton will give me the afternoon off for my birthday. I have a lot of apologizing to do.

**Author's note: Some of you are old enough to remember the infamous shower scene on **_**Dallas **_**when Pam Ewing woke up, after thinking that Bobby was dead for a whole season, only to find him alive and well in the shower. That was the inspiration for this story. **

**But think about it. What kind of a visionary is Alice if she couldn't see Bella getting a paper cut and all the dreadful things that happened as a result? I couldn't see it either, so this is my solution. It was all a nightmare that Bella had before her eighteenth birthday. **

**The inspiration for the tender moment with the diamond came after I was writing the story and realized that I preferred to make it something other than a light-hearted take off on one of the worst plot twists ever written to save a TV show.**

**No offense to Stephanie Meyer, but I think this beats the mirror dream. Of course if you really like that part of the story, you can keep it. Haven't you ever had a dream and thought you woke up from it, but it was more of a dream within a dream? Thought so. Me too.**


	2. Revision of the Worst Day of My Life

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

_Author's Note: Okay, faithful readers, I lied about this being a one-shot. I had an idea for a Chapter 2 to my original story and decided to go for it. I don't know how often I will update, but I guess that I will when the spirit hits me._

**Chapter 2: Revision of the Worst Day of My Life**

For several minutes after Edward leaves, I stand staring at the beautiful diamond heart sparkling around my neck. I look at the note and read it a few more times. How could I have had such an awful nightmare about him, when it is obvious as to how much he loves me and clearly never would leave me? I have to figure out some way of apologizing for my foolishness.

In the light of day, it is difficult to imagine that he would ever leave me. He is always obsessing over my mortality. He wouldn't let the transformation happen down in Phoenix, although I am secretly grateful for that. I'm not sure how I would have felt to have the venom of an evil vampire like James in me.

But I really thought that I had won at prom. And there was just so something so completely romantic about the idea of _Edward's _venom in my blood stream transforming me to be a vampire, just like him. Logically, I know that it would have to be Carlisle who did it. I know that Edward had a terrible time stopping when he was sucking out James's venom and was finally to taste my blood.

But in the end, painful as it was, he proved that he had the restraint to stop and not kill me. Maybe someday . . . I stop my daydream in its tracks and realize that if I don't start my morning routine now, then I am likely to be late for school. And I don't want to risk missing a single second of time with Edward. As more time passes, the dream recedes farther into my subconscious.

After a refreshing shower, I go downstairs to face Charlie wearing my new necklace. I was tempted to act like a scared kid and hide it under my sweater, but knowing the rumor mill in Forks, I know that he would hear about it before he got home tonight. There was no way that I could hide it in school and not hurt Edward's feelings.

Besides, I want to wear it there where everyone can see it. I want everyone to know how much he loves me so that if they ask I can tell the how much I love him. After all, they do say on that TV commercial that diamonds are forever.

So I dress in my best pair jeans and an open-collared white shirt, with a pale blue tank top underneath. I pull my hair back off my face, so nothing hides my throat, and then brush it down my back until it is like a chestnut brown glossy cascade. After I race down the stairs, I take a deep breath and enter the kitchen.

"Hi, Dad!" I say as I go over to the pantry and fridge to get my cereal and milk.

"Hey, Bells!" he replies not looking up from his morning paper. "How did you sleep last night? You seemed pretty restless."

"Yeah, I guess that I was," I reply noncommittally, since someone has already told me that.

"You were saying Edward's name over and over in your sleep," he says, looking up at me as he folds his paper. "You kept begging him to come back. Did you two have a fight or something?"

"No," I answer slowly. "Just a nightmare. Why? Are you disappointed?"

"C'mon, Bells," he says with a sigh. "Will you cut that out? Edward may not be my favorite person in the world, but you love him and I accept that. And if you two did have a fight I know that you would be absolutely miserable. So would cut your old man a little slack. Okay? Besides, it's your birthday and I don't want to fight with you even if we aren't going to celebrate it."

"Okay," I say as I sit down, pour my cereal into a bowl, and add the milk. "So what do you want to talk about?"

But whatever his original line of thinking was, it is interrupted when he notices my necklace.

"Holy smokes! That is one beautiful piece of jewelry," he says whistling. "When did he give you that?"

"Why are you assuming that Edward gave it to me?" I ask feeling defensive as my annoyance rising for some unknown reason.

"Are you going to try and tell me that someone else gave you a heart necklace for your birthday?" he asks with that "what do you think I am, stupid," look on his face.

"Last night he gave me a box and asked me not to open it until this morning," I explain. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Pretty? Bells, that has got to be an heirloom," he replies. "It looks like something from the turn of the twentieth century. Where would he find something like that?"

"I don't know," I say. "I'll ask him. I just thought that it was a nice design."

"Do you mind?" he asks, as he reaches forward to take it in his fingers and closely examines it.

I look at him anxiously as he turns it over in his fingers and looks at the way that the facets sparkle in the sunlight.

"This is a real diamond or I'm a monkey's uncle," he says. "Must have belonged to Carlisle's grandmother or something. But why would he give such an expensive necklace to a kid like Edward? Even if he considers him his real son, he is still an irresponsible teenager."

"I don't know," I say as I hear a knock on the front door. "I'll get it."

When I open the door, Edward enters, and gives me a swift kiss on the cheek.

"Alice sent me," he whispers, and touches the necklace.

"Hey, Dad!" I say trying my best to sound casual, as we go back to the kitchen. "Look at who is here!"

"Hi, Edward!" says Charlie absentmindedly, no doubt still mulling over the mystery of the necklace's origin. "Are you here to not wish Bella a happy birthday?"

"Something like that," he says with a smile. "I stopped by to see if she wanted a ride to school."

_"She," _I say a little peeved by their use of the third person. "Would love a ride to school."

"I see that you're wearing your necklace," he says. "Do you like it?"

I clap my hand over my mouth.

"Edward, I'm so sorry!" I say throwing my arms around his neck. "I don't like it, I love it! Thank you so much! It's amazing! I can't believe that I didn't thank you the minute that I opened the door!"

"I thought so," he says easily. "But I also assumed that you didn't want to scandalize the neighbors as you are scandalizing your father right now."

But Charlie is the last thing on my mind. I lift my mouth for a kiss, which he obligingly gives me. Of course for obvious reasons it is a relatively chaste kiss. Our kisses always steer clear of any danger to me from his teeth, or in this case him from my father.

"Ah-hem, Edward," says Charlie clearing his throat. "That's quite a piece of jewelry. Now I'm not am expert, but I do know a few things about precious gems because of my experience in police work. That looks like a real diamond to me."

"It is," he says with the confident tone that he takes when he is lying, or in this case bending the truth. "It's kind of a hand-me-down."

"What does _that _mean?" Charlie asks sternly, I pick up my spoon to eat while Edward explains himself.

"Well," he says. "When Esme and Carlisle adopted me, the adoption agency had a box with some things that kind of came along with me, if you know what I mean. Some of it was my Mom's jewelry, and some things were other toys and artifacts from my parents' lives. I don't know who put them together for me. I was too small to remember."

"I don't mean to pry, but . . . " begins Charlie.

"Yes, you do," I interrupt, annoyed again because I have to talk with my mouth full of Cheerios.

"Okay," says Charlie, with a sigh. "This may be none of my business. But it seems to me that if such a fine piece of jewelry was passed down to you then you must have come from some money. How did you end up at an adoption agency? Didn't you have any family to take care of you?"

"I know very little of my family history," says Edward smoothly. "But I do know that my parents died in a car crash. They were older and both only children. I was a late-in-life surprise for them, or so the agency guessed. No grandparents came forward for me because they had passed away, in fact no one did. As an older child, I was harder to place.

"Esme first saw me at a kind of half-way house for children waiting for foster placement when she was doing community service work there. She felt sorry me because I was kind of pathetic looking. As you may have heard, she can't have children. She and Carlisle first became my foster parents and later adopted me. They only received the box of family treasures, as I like to call them, after the adoption was complete."

"That makes sense," mutters Charlie. "They probably wanted to make sure that the adopting parents weren't just after you for your money."

"I guess," replies Edward. "But unless we want to be late for school, we need to get going."

"Will you be home for dinner tonight, Bells?" asks Charlie. "I kind of wanted to do something a little special so you wouldn't have to cook."

Knowing Charlie, "something special" probably means a take-out pizza or something.

"Sure, Dad," I say. "I will be home. Can Edward come over?"

Charlie looks at him and sighs.

"Sure," he says. "There's a ballgame tonight that I really wanted to see and he can keep you company. You weren't planning on taking her out, were you, Edward?"

"Of course not," he answers truthfully. "I promised not to make a big deal over her birthday. That's why I gave her the necklace last night, so that it wouldn't technically be a birthday gift."

"Hmm," says Charlie. "About the, uh, birthday gift thing. You know that your Mom couldn't let that go. She insisted that we give you something and that I get you a cake. I hope that you don't mind."

"I don't mind," I reply graciously, still basking in the joy of receiving the necklace. "I know Mom and she has always ignored my requests for quiet birthdays."

"Okay," says Charlie. "Well, you two better shove off or I might have to write a late excuse for you and explain that it's your birthday. By the way, Bells, ask Alice if she can come over too."

Edward and I laugh with him at his pretty lame joke. He looks happy enough. We are almost at the door when he calls Edward back. Edward smiles and tells me to get in the car and buckle up. Whatever Charlie wants, it's obviously not bad. When he returns, he gets in and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that all about?" I ask.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," answers Edward. "It's a gift for you that is supposed to be a secret between him and me."

"If it's a decision that he made, I bet that I can get Alice to tell me," I say.

"For someone who didn't want any gifts or fuss for her birthday," he remarks. "You certainly are being a good sport about everything. By the way, what are you going to tell people when they comment on the necklace? And you know they will."

Thoughts of sour looks from Jessica and Lauren enter my head. I can see Angela being happy for me and Ben will agree with her because that is the kind of loyal boyfriend that Ben is. Eric and Tyler have pretty much given up on me, but Mike hasn't. I am sure that he will have something to say about it when he hears it is from Edward. Alice already knows about it, I'm sure.

"I'll tell them that it is a birthday gift from you," I say. "And when they compliment it, I will say that you are the most wonderful boyfriend in the world."

"Does that mean I can say that we are going steady?" he asks seriously.

I try not to laugh, but I can't help it.

"Edward!" I say. "Kids don't go steady these days. That term is just so . . . old-fashioned."

"Like me," he teases.

"Listen Edward," I say more seriously. "Kids don't go steady today. They hook up. And you and I don't do that. What we have is much more special. Speaking of special, did you leave a note behind by accident in the jewelry box."

He looks away from me and I would swear that I'd he wasn't a vampire he would be blushing as furiously as I usually did.

"The note was very sweet," I say softly. "And I don't think that you left it there by accident. It made me very happy to read it."

"Are you sure?" he asks. "I mean, I felt a little like a coward. You know. Because I didn't write my own note, but well, my human Dad said better than I could have."

"I doubt that," I say. "But you may want it back to keep safe."

"I would prefer to leave it in the box where is belongs," he replies.

"I promise I won't lose it," I say seriously.

"Of course you won't," he says as he pulls into a spot. "Let's get to class before Mr. Berty gets annoyed with us again."

Because we have English class first hour, we are often late because we get caught up in our before school conversations and lose track of time. Our teacher hates it and glares at us as we walk in. But today we make it on time and take our usual seats together in the back of the room. Nobody looks at us twice. I think of Edward's remark about us "going steady." If such a thing were in vogue today, I am sure that everyone would think that we are.

In school we are never apart except for math class. After school, we don't spend much time out of each other's sight, except when I am working at Newton's and he is hunting. And when he is hunting, usually Alice hangs out with me. After the incident in Phoenix last spring, we both are anxious when we are apart, so this makes it easier.

Charlie may still have ambivalent feelings about Edward, but he has none where Alice is concerned. When we returned from Phoenix last spring, she helped me shower and take care of other personal needs. He deeply appreciated that. And he always liked it when she hung out with me or us over the summer.

On a few occasions Jasper joined us, but in addition to the fact that he was uncomfortable around Charlie, Charlie was very uncomfortable around him. His sixth sense seemed to read danger in his presence, which naturally there was.

At lunch, Alice comes bounding up to us.

"So the party for tonight is off," she pouts. "But I'm hanging out with you two at Charlie's?"

"That's right," says Edward. "Charlie wants Bella home for the evening and I felt that it was important to respect his wishes."

"Oh, of course," she says. "It's all about Charlie's wishes."

"And mine," I say.

"Oh, silly!" she says. "You weren't going to get a paper cut! But our family does have some gifts for you. Do you mind if we bring them over before Charlie gets home? I promise to open them for you!"

"Alice could bring them with her tonight," adds Edward. "But you are being so nice about getting gifts now, that I would really like for them to see your pleasure when you open them, especially Carlisle and Esme."

"Sure," I say. "That would be great."

"I told you so!" says Alice to Edward. "And that necklace is perfect for you!"

We are sitting at the end of the lunch table that we now share with my old group of friends. Jessica, who has hearing that is always supersonic when it comes to gossip, especially when it is related to fashion, immediately looks over.

"Bella, that necklace is amazing!" she says. "Is it a birthday gift? Who gave it to you?"

"Edward gave it to me for my birthday," I say. "And I really do love it."

"You should," says Lauren jealously. "It's got to worth a small fortune."

"No," says Angela. "I'm sure that it's only a crystal. Why would Bella wear a necklace like that to school?"

They all look at me inquisitively. Jessica's expression tells me that she clearly agrees with Lauren's assessment of the value of the necklace. The guys look confused, but of course, what do they know about jewelry? Edward gives my hand a little squeeze under the table where he is surreptitiously holding it.

"I'm wearing it," I say confidently. "Because I never want to take it off."

"You should have just gotten her a ring," mutters Mike.

"A ring!" Lauren pounces on his words. "Now _that _would be a real statement!"

Edward's free hand clenches into a tight fist. Alice says something to him so quickly and quietly that I can't make it out, but his hand relaxes again.

"Oh stop it!" says Angela bravely in the face of one of the most vicious girls in the senior class. "If Edward wants to give her a necklace and she loves it, what does it matter? After all, it is her birthday."

Luckily the bell rings for next hour before Lauren can answer her. Whatever it was that she was going to say, it has Edward all cranked up again. Alice puts one arm through mine and the other through Edward's as we leave for our next classes.

"Ignore it, Edward," she says. "It's not worth it. And she's about to get in trouble with Mr. Varner for talking while he is lecturing in math class."

"Whatever she was thinking, Edward," I say. "It's definitely not worth it. I'm sure that it was cruel and spiteful, because that's the way she is. And she still hasn't forgiven me for not going to prom with Tyler after he ditched her."

"You don't know what she was thinking," he growls.

"It doesn't matter," I say. "Please let it drop. If you don't, it will just last longer and become more public."

"Bella is right," says Alice before she goes into the art room for her class. "If you do what you are planning, the story will just spread that much farther."

We walk in silence to our next class, which is science. Then I get an idea to calm him down. I stop short and lean up to his ear.

"I love you with all my heart," I whisper. "Does anything else matter?"

"No," he says with a gentle smile. "Of course not."

_Author's Note: Do you think that this is worth continuing? I have a few more ideas, but I would like some feedback. My goal is to create a more confident Bella and a less-brooding Edward._


	3. Diamonds Really Are Forever

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 3: Diamonds Really **_**are**_** Forever **

By the time that we leave school after the last bell, Edward assures me that Lauren has not been able to spread whatever her rumor was any further. In fact, she has pissed off a bunch of people by trying bad mouth us. Aside from the fact that we are pretty nice people, most of the other kids don't really care. We drive home alone because Alice has run ahead to bring the rest of the family to the house.

When we arrive at the house, it is obvious that the other Cullens, including Emmett and Rosalie, have arrived. Carlisle's Mercedes is parked outside and I can tell by the shadows in the living room that they are waiting for us inside. They really didn't need to drive, but the car is for show, in case anyone notices them coming and going.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" says Esme giving me a chilly hug as we walk into the door.

"Hey, there, Bella!" says Emmett lifting me up a big bear hug, just as chilly yet still warm feeling at the same time, and swinging me around. "I'm sure glad that you haven't had any more funny accidents while we were away!"

"Emmett!" Esme scolds. "I can't believe that you just said that!"

"I can't either, or any other kind if accident for that matter," Rosalie grumbles. "Happy birthday, Bella."

Her obvious lack of enthusiasm earns her a sharp look from Carlisle.

"You look great, Bella," he says. "And I'm glad that you accepted the necklace with such good grace. Edward was afraid that you would give him a hard time."

"How could I give him a hard time about getting such a gorgeous gift?" I say. "It's the loveliest thing that I have ever owned."

"I can tell," comments Rosalie, looking around our shabby living room with a sneer.

"That's enough, Rosalie!" says Esme. "If you cannot be pleasant, then you should leave."

"Okay," she says walking towards the door. "I'll see you back at the house!"

"Rose!" groans Emmett.

"You can stay if you want," she says. "I'm not going to force you to leave. But I can't do this. See you later."

I feel completely bewildered. Why is she so upset with me? And why did she have to be so mean about our house? I mean, I know that the Cullens have a thousand times more money than we do, but I never thought that they really cared about it. And now, as always, I am coming between various members of the family.

"Don't do that, Bella," says Jasper, looking at me intently. "She's not worth it. She is just very bitter. We all have to live with it sometimes."

"And because you are a part of this family," says Carlisle. "It means that you do too. I'm sorry."

"C'mon Bella!" says Alice. "It's your birthday! Just cheer up! You know that none of us has had a birthday since Emmett in 1935."

"Sure," I say uncertainly. "Do you want to sit down?"

"We don't need to," replies Esme, noting that there are not enough seats for everyone. "But you should."

Edward takes my hand and leads me over to the couch where we sit together. Esme sits in the easy chair and Alice perches herself on the arm. The others are standing around and I am about to mention that they can get the chairs from the kitchen, but I don't have time because Alice is opening a gift wrapped in silver paper for me. Once the paper is off, she hands me the rather large box.

"This is from Esme," she says. "She designed it specially after I told her about your bedroom."

With Edward's help, I take off the lid and find a brand-new sheet and comforter set in the lovely, warm colors of the desert. As I pull out the comforter and open it, I see that it is a scene of a sunrise silhouetting a large organ pipe cactus.

"I love it!" I say. "It's perfect!"

"Well, it was actually Edward who told me that you could use some warmer bedding," admits Esme. "But it is better for Charlie's sake if you say that it was Alice who mentioned it."

"Of course," I agree.

"This one is from Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and me," says Alice as she opens the next medium size box.

When I pull off the lid, I can see that it is a Bose CD/radio music player.

"Thank you so much!" I say. "My old CD player was starting to sound kind of bad."

"I know," Edward grimaces. "Alice, give her Carlisle's gift."

She opens the package and hands me the box. When I look at the cover, I see that it's a brand new, top-of-the-line iPhone.

"I have also put you on our cell phone service," says Carlisle. "And before you complain that it's too much, I want you to know that it's for our benefit as well as yours. Now when Edward goes hunting, we won't have to listen to him worrying about you twenty-four seven. He can just call you up."

"And look!" says Alice. "You can take pictures and download music and text or email your Mom from it."

"Wow!" I say. "This is so awesome! Thank you, Carlisle!"

"You're welcome," he says. "As I said earlier, you are a part of this family. We want you to know that you can always be in touch with us. We will never leave you."

"Edward told you about my dream?" I ask sheepishly.

"Yes, he did, dear," replies Esme in a soothing tone. "None of us had any idea that your anxiety about losing him was so great."

"I hope that you're not insulted by my lack of faith in you, Jasper," I say lowering my eyes and turning pink. "Or you, Alice."

"No, of course not," replies Alice for both of them. "I think that the only one who feels bad right now is Edward. If he weren't being so stubborn about making sure that you were safe in our world, then you wouldn't be having these kinds of nightmares. Even if he is guarding you every night in your bedroom."

"Look, Alice . . . " I begin, but Edward interrupts me.

"Alice is right, Bella," says Edward quietly. "I am being stubborn. But there is another reason why Rosalie just left. And that is because she can't bear to watch me give you your other birthday present."

"What other birthday present?" I say puzzled by his sudden seriousness.

"They convinced me this morning," he explains. "When I returned home and told them the story about your dream."

"He was still wavering in school," adds Alice. "But something happened, or rather was said, that convinced him once and for all."

"What was that?" I ask faintly.

"When Lauren was being snarky about your necklace, she was thinking about how a diamond ring might have been more appropriate because she thought that I, um . . . " Edward begins uncomfortably.

"Say it, Edward!" says Emmett. "Alice already told us. She thought that he got you knocked up."

"What?" I ask uncomprehendingly as I flush scarlet. "We've never even . . . "

"Of course not, dear," says Esme immediately. "It is much too dangerous between a vampire and a human. He could kill you more easily than you realize. But _that _isn't the only reason that he has finally agreed."

"To what?" I ask trembling, as she gives him a nod of encouragement.

"If you were a vampire," he admits. "Then I couldn't hurt you that way or any other way for that matter. And right now, in more ways than one, I am hurting you by forcing you to remain human. I know that I've been kind of a pompous ass about the whole thing since Alice told you how a vampire is created."

"Kind of a pompous ass?" asks Alice rhetorically. "You've been a total jerk.

"An absolute moron," adds Jasper.

"A real idiot!" Emmett says cheerfully.

"Okay," Edward growls fiercely. "She _gets_ the idea! So I decided that I would agree to let Carlisle transform you, if that's what you really want, after you marry me."

"Is this a marriage proposal?" I ask in shock, for the moment ignoring his momentous agreement to support my wish to be a vampire.

"No, not at all," he says instantly. "When I propose to you, it will be much more romantic and private than this. But I can't let you continue to live I fear that I will leave you. If you marry me and Carlisle changes you, then we will literally be together forever."

A thousand things tumble through my head at once. I can't believe that this is happening. I look around at all of their smiling faces in a daze, and have a Sally Field moment. _They love me! They really love me! _And they all want me to be with them forever too. My eyes are swimming with the inevitable tears.

"It's a lot to take in at once. We know that. And you do have time to consider all of this," says Carlisle calmly. "In order to protect Charlie and your mother, we will wait until after graduation, when a natural transition in your relationship with them will be occurring. We will all have to disappear since obviously they can't know what you will become."

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense," I kind of stutter out. "I just can't wrap my head around it all right now."

"That's okay, dear," says Esme soothingly as she looks at Jasper.

I feel the calm descending over my body, courtesy of Jasper, I am sure. And then for the first time, I look up, directly into Edward's eyes. They are shining with love. I search for any hint of regret in his offer, in this gift, but there is none. Something has broken down whatever that barrier in his mind was regarding my mortality. But I can't tell what it was. Then I remember Rosalie.

"Is this what upset Rosalie so much?" I ask feeling a little hurt. "What does it matter to her? Doesn't she want me as a sister?"

"It's not about you being her sister," explains Edward. "It's about you becoming a vampire. She still wishes that she were still human more than anything else. And she can't believe that you are just throwing away _your_ humanity for this half-life in which we exist."

"But I am doing it to be with someone that I love more than anyone," I reply. "I love you more than anything. Becoming a vampire will not be a half-life for me. It means that I will finally have a whole life. My life will never be complete unless we are together as equals. You do know that, don't you?"

"I know," he says quietly as he takes me in his arms.

"All of us don't feel like Rose does," says Emmett. "When both Esme and I were changed, we found our mates, our real soul mates in this life. Rose did too, but she still wishes that we were both human."

"I don't want to be human again," Esme quietly explains. "If I wasn't with Carlisle, then I would be dead. And if it wasn't for Carlisle, my children Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie would all be dead too. And when Carlisle changes you, then our family will be complete."

"I don't even remember being human," says Alice. "And I feel very lucky to have Jasper."

"Having a true soul mate in this life makes all the difference," adds Jasper. "That's why Edward has been so miserable for all these years. We want him to be happy like us. And it's not our choice. It's yours. And there is another layer to Rosalie's misery. And that is the fact that she can never have a child."

"Oh," I say almost dismissively. "Well, I don't want a child anyway. I just want Edward. And even though I would be happy if I was transformed today, you are right about Charlie and Renee. I owe it to them to give them a more natural break. I would be going away to college and starting my own life anyway."

"Seeing that it will be a permanent break," says Carlisle. "You do owe them at least that much. And it will be the natural time for the rest of us to leave town as well, since Alice and Edward will be graduating from high school as well."

Edward begins to look at me thoughtfully.

"Edward . . . " says Alice in a warning tone.

"We will talk about it later," he hisses.

"What?" Emmett asks. "I hate when you do that."

"Well, hate it or not," says Carlisle. "The rest of us need to get going before Charlie comes home."

"He will be here in about ten minutes with Chinese food," says Alice. "Both Edward and I will have to kind of suck it up."

"Literally?" asks Emmett playfully.

"No, you idiot," she says rolling her eyes. "The wretched smell of moo-goo guy whatever they call it. Chinese food has to smell worse than any other kind of human food."

"What about the gifts?" I ask, looking at them with trepidation.

"Let Alice do the explaining," says Edward testily. "It will keep her mouth busy."

Alice sticks out her tongue at him, looking like she is about twelve years old. Esme looks at both of them sharply.

"I don't know what this is about," she says in annoyance. "But it would be very embarrassing to me if the two of you were to engage in any kind of sibling warfare in front of Charlie. Is that clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," says Alice as Edward nods.

Now they _both _look about twelve years old, in the face of their mother's command. We all stand up and before they leave, Esme, Emmett, and Carlisle all give me a hug and a kiss. Holding his breath, Jasper awkwardly touches my cheek with his.

"I sure can't wait until you're a vampire," he whispers in my ear. "It would be nice not to want kill you all the time."

Completely out of breath, he backs away and gives me one of the sharpest salutes that I have ever seen. It makes me wonder if perhaps he wasn't a soldier during his human life. Oh well, I know that I have lots of time to hear his story. In fact, I will learn all their stories.

Once they are gone, Alice cleans up the paper and neatly stacks the white boxes.

"You will want to show these things to Charlie," she says. "Don't worry. They won't outshine the gift that he is going to give you from Renee and him."

"Will she like it?" asks Edward.

"Of course, she will," replies Alice. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Charlie's been worrying about it since Renee bought it," he answers. "He's afraid that Bella will think that it's too extravagant."

"After all this stuff?" asks Alice. "I doubt that very much."

"And you aren't going to tell me what it is," I say.

"No," says Alice. "It will make Charlie much happier if he can enjoy your real surprise when he gives it to you. Edward, set up the email on her phone so that she can send a selfie to Renee after she sees it."

"Already done it," he says with a smile. "Charlie is coming down the street now. I hope he gives you that present soon or he's going to worry himself into a heart attack."

"No, he won't," says Alice. "I would see that coming."

We hear the cruiser turn into the driveway and shift around so that Alice and I are sitting on the couch and Edward is sitting in the chair. Alice quickly flips on the TV to "Pawn Stars" and we pick up a new conversation with comments about our latest English assignment. Charlie walks I with the brown bags with the Chinese take-out, and smiles when he sees Alice and me sitting together and Edward by himself in the chair.

"Hey, kids!" he says cheerfully. "How was your day?"

"It was great," I answer. "How was your day?"

"Oh, the usual," he shrugs. "Alice and Edward, would you like to join us for some Chinese? I've got some dim sum for Bella and the normal stuff for me."

"Thanks, Charlie," answers Alice. "But we're good. MSG doesn't really agree with either of us."

"Oh, yeah," he says. "I should have thought of that. You know that you can order it without that stuff. I'll try to remember for the next time."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Charlie," says Alice seriously.

"Can I give you am help, Dad?" I ask.

"No," he says rolling his eyes. "I think that I can manage taking plates and utensils out of the cupboard. I see that you got a few more presents."

"My parents stopped off with a couple of things," replies Edward. "My Mom is kind of like Bella's Mom. Whether you like it or not, she's going to celebrate your birthday and get you presents."

"Edward," says Charlie totally deadpan. "Your mother is _nothing _like Bella's mother."

"Tell me about it," says Alice with an eye roll of her own. "When Bella was in the hospital in Phoenix, she . . . "

"Alice, this is a birthday party," interrupts Edward quickly, before they can start on a contest to see who can tell the craziest stories about Renee. "Let's not dwell on unhappy subjects. Bella, you and Charlie should eat before your food gets cold."

"Okay," I say. "I'm starved, I can show you the gifts later, Dad."

"Sure, Bells," answers Charlie. "I don't want my sweet and sour pork to get cold."

He is so serious that I have to laugh. Edward and Alice follow us into the kitchen. Charlie immediately begins to apologize for not having a fourth chair, but Edward very honestly tells he that he doesn't mind standing. The atmosphere is lighter in a way that it hasn't been in a while when Edward is around.

Alice keeps us all laughing with her imitation of the new art teacher, who is from Italy and still doesn't have complete command of English. Some of the boys tried to take advantage of that fact to teach her to use inappropriate slang today.

Normally Charlie doesn't like to hear about kids disrespecting adults in charge, but even he has to laugh when she describes how they told her that the acronym "WTF" meant World Talent Federation and had her nominating students. They made up a list to put outside her classroom door.

Principal Greene was not at all amused to see the list of nominees for the "WTF Awards." But using an honor code that only makes sense to students, no one ratted out the culprits. And the poor teacher didn't even fully comprehend what had happened.

Once we have finished eating and the dishes are cleaned and put away, Charlie makes a big deal out of pulling out a small cake that he had hidden in the back of the fridge and lighting a candle. I put on a cheerful face as they sing "Happy Birthday" to me and then blow out the candle.

Listening to Edward's amazing tenor voice makes up for my embarrassment at the unwanted attention. Finally, Charlie pulls out a narrow box wrapped rather clumsily in pink and white paper. He is so nervous that a few sweat beads are showing up on his forehead.

"Allow me," says Edward, neatly slitting open the wrapping with his fingernail.

"You should probably help her hold it so that she doesn't drop it," says Charlie anxiously.

When we pull off the paper, I can see a white box with the words "MacBook Air" on it.

"Get out!" I exclaim. "This is so awesome! I can't believe it! But Dad, you and Mom shouldn't have."

Told you so, mouths Alice to Edward.

"Well," he says. "We figure that it's a good investment. You know, in a year you will be off to college and you'll need something a lot better than that secondhand antique upstairs. She knew someone down in Florida who got her a good deal on this one. Do you really like it?"

"Like it?" I say, throwing my arms around his shoulders. "Oh my God! This is amazing! It's going to make everything for school so much easier."

"Well, the rest of it hasn't come yet," he says. "But these days when you buy one of these things, you get a coupon for free printer it seems. It should be coming any day now."

"That's great, Dad!" I say. "Thank you so much! Edward, can you help me set it up?"

"Of course," he says. "But why don't you show Charlie the things that my family gave you?"

"Oh, yes!" I say and stumble out of my chair.

Luckily Edward grabs me before I can hit the floor. He must have realized that such a move would pull another normal human down because the next thing I know, we have both hit the floor. He has me protectively cradled in his arms so that I don't actually hit the floor with any real force.

Charlie laughs hysterically as we get tangled together and Alice runs into the living room. By the time she returns with the gift boxes, we are sorted out and I am sitting in the chair again.

"This is from Esme," she says holding up the bedding. "I told her that Bella's was a little, um, childish, so she thought that she would like the southwest theme."

"That was very thoughtful of her," says Charlie. "What's this?"

"It's a CD player and radio from Jasper and me," she says. "It's just a little thing."

"Yeah, right," says Charlie with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "I know what a Bose is. And that looks like another Apple box."

"Carlisle got me an iPhone," I say. "He even got me a one year plan. He thought that it would be easier for me to keep in touch with Mom if I had a cell phone with data service."

"Look," says Alice before he can answer.

She picks up the phone and tells Charlie and me to sit and hold up the computer. She snaps a couple of pictures.

"Here, Bella," she says. "Type an email message and send the picture as an attachment."

I quickly type in "Thanks Mom! I love you! Bella" and hit send. The phone makes a kind of swooping noise. To our surprise, the phone rings after a couple of minutes.

"Hello?" I say.

"Bella!" says Renee loudly. "When did you get an iPhone?"

"How did you know that I got an iPhone?" I ask. "And how did you get the number."

"You did just send me an email with a picture of you and Charlie and your new MacBook," she says. "It said 'sent from my iPhone' at the bottom and the phone number was added to your signature."

Edward grins at me. He was the one who set up the email. Alice must have told him to add the phone number.

"Yeah, um, Carlisle gave me the phone," I say.

"And did Edward give that gorgeous necklace?" she asks.

"Uh, yeah," I reply. "How did you . . . Oh, yeah, the picture."

"Well, it's a very expensive piece of jewelry," she begins to lecture me. "You better not lose it."

"Don't worry, Momma," I assure her. "I never plan to take it off."

"Okay, honey," she says. "Well, now that you have this phone, there will be no excuses for you not calling and emailing me. Right?"

"Yes, Momma," I say.

"I love you, baby," she says. "And Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks, Momma," I say. "I love you too."

After I hang up, I look over at Charlie who is grinning like a loon and Edward, who is trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"Well, Bells," says Charlie. "I may have to write a thank you note to Carlisle myself. No offense to your mother, but I'm sure glad that I don't have to take any more calls from her."

"Yeah," I say, still confused by the rapid response of my mother to my email. "I will be sure to tell him that."

"Well, kids," he says. "If you don't mind, I have a ballgame to watch. Why don't you go up to your room and set that computer up. But don't stay too late, Alice and Edward. The three of you have to go to school tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," says Alice.

Once he is gone, Edward grabs my gifts and goes upstairs. He brings the computer over to my desk to set up while Alice and I put the new comforter and sheet set on the bed.

Then I take a picture with my new phone and send it as a text to Esme, whose cell number has conveniently been programmed into my phone. I scroll down and see all the Cullen cell phone numbers are there. I turn to Edward and see that the computer is already set up.

"You won't be able to print until your new printer comes, but you can always email any papers to me at my house and I can print them for you," he says. "This old printer you have here is incompatible with the new model."

Alice sits in the rocker and Edward lounges on the bed, I curl up next to him.

"Tell me, Alice," I ask. "Why did my Mom call so quickly"

"I saw her decide to sit at her computer waiting for an email from you no matter how late it got," she answers grinning. "That's why I had Edward add the cell number to the email address. By the way, it's a new icloud account, so you can pick up emails from either the phone or the laptop."

"You thought of everything," I say fondly.

"Actually, Edward did," she admits. "He decided that an apple account would be better than your old hotmail one."

"I never thought that I could actually have such a wonderful birthday," I sigh. "I feel like everything is just perfect."

"Except that you haven't done any homework yet," giggles Alice.

"Oh, who cares?" I ask. "It's my birthday!"

"Yes," she says looking serious again. "It could very well be your last."

"It _is _my last," I say emphatically. "If I reach another birthday then I will be two whole years older than Edward."

"A cougar!" he says laughing. "I believe that cougar is another name for a mountain lion. You might say that cougars are my favorite!"

I growl at him and he laughs. But I'm really not too annoyed by his teasing. How can I possibly be mad at the man who just gave me forever for my birthday? But it's not just forever. It's forever with him. Who could ask for anything more?

_Author's note: What do you think of the revised gifts? I know that Edward seems to be giving in very easily on the vampire transformation thing, but I did leave in the bit about "after we are married."_


	4. Backbone

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

_Author's Note: Rating recently changed to T._

**Chapter 4: Backbone**

My birthday has actually been pretty good this year. It is several hours later and Edward and Alice have "left" to go home. Actually they drove off with Alice at the steering wheel, and as soon as they were out of sight, she dropped Edward off and he came running back through the woods to wait for Charlie to go to bed before coming back into my bedroom.

To pass the time, I went through my evening routine of shower, brushing teeth, and drying hair so that it wouldn't look like a haystack in the morning. When I return to my room, Edward is waiting for me in the rocking chair. I snuggle into his lap.

"Hey, beautiful!" he says as he breathes in the scent of my clean hair. "Can you stand another birthday present?"

"I don't know," I say nervously. "This is starting to feel like a bit too much."

"Well, this is the one you dreamed of," he answers softly. "And it didn't cost me a dime, go over and turn on the Bose."

My heart rate picks up as I walk over and press down the button. In seconds, the room is filled with the sound of my lullaby being played on the piano. The clarity of the speaker is such that I could swear he was playing the piano right here in the room with me. I can feel the tears welling up and spilling over my cheeks.

"Not all of your dream was bad," he says gently. "I thought that I could recreate one of the best parts."

"After you left me," I say remembering sadly. "You hid all proof that you had ever existed in my life, including the CD. You even told me that it would be as if you never existed. But you lied. I could never forget that you existed."

"Are you still afraid of that?" he asks looking concerned. "Are you still wondering if I will abandon you again?"

I nod, and he very sad.

"I'm sorry," I say contritely. "But I can't help feeling that this is the dream and the other was the reality. Everything is just so perfect. I mean, things are suddenly all out of whack. Nothing is messed up the way it was before. You are agreeing that Carlisle can transform me into a vampire, and I'm actually enjoying my birthday. Even Charlie is being nice to you. You can't tell me that that doesn't sound like a dream to you."

"Actually, thing with Charlie is what I was talking about when I came out to the car and said that it was another birthday present of sorts," he says. "That was why Charlie called me back into the house this morning. He wants a fresh start with me.

"As he was talking, I could see very clearly in his mind that he was afraid losing you to me, and not in a good way. He doesn't want to force you into making a choice between the two of us. He thinks that if he does that, he will lose you.

"That's why he took my family's gifts to you so well. He really thought that they were over the top. And as you were showing them to him, he was getting more and more worried that the next thing that you were going to say was that you were moving out."

"But the very first thing that we showed him was the comforter set," I say. "Didn't that tell him that I was staying?"

"That's what set his mind off," he replies. "He thought that Esme had bought it for your bed in our house."

"How silly!" I say. "Is that what he thought about the Bose and the phone too?"

"Yes," he answers seriously. "That's why he made such a big deal over Carlisle's generosity. Of course he is also very happy that he doesn't have to field any more phone calls from Renee. I could see in his mind that she has really been driving him crazy every time he picks up the phone and she's on the line."

"Why is that?" I ask puzzled.

"Ever since the incident in Phoenix," he explains. "She had basically been hounding him to get me out of your life. She was pretty mad about prom. And then she wasn't happy when you refused to go see her in Jacksonville when she offered this summer. In fact, a large part of the computer money came from what she had saved for an airline ticket."

"Like I was going to go and see her after the way that she acted in Phoenix," I grumble. "She would have spent the whole time hounding _me _to go live with her there."

"Yes," he says. "That's why she has been on Charlie's back. She has accused him of trash talking her to you, as if he has to. But it backfired on her. Charlie figures that if the price of keeping you here in Forks is accepting me, it's a fair trade. And he really did enjoy spending time with us tonight. He's beginning to really come around, not just pretending to."

"I could see that," I say quietly, thinking about how too much of this whole day was simply a dream come true.

Edward looks at me closely, searching my face for the meaning behind my subdued tone.

"Why is it so much easier to believe that the nightmare was real?" he asks, taking note of my descending air of gloom. "Don't you trust me?"

"I trust you," I swallow. "But I don't trust me. There is a part of me that is afraid that I am going to wake up and find out that we did go to Italy and that you were just humoring me by saying that you wouldn't let me go once we got back. I'm still afraid that I will wake up and you will all be gone again."

"All of us?" he asks sadly.

"I'm sorry," I reply. "It just felt so real. And now this feels so real. But if this is the dream, then I hope that I never wake up again."

He reaches over and touches the heart of the necklace around my neck.

"This feels real?" he asks. "Doesn't it? Could you ever have dreamed of such a necklace?"

"No," I say. "But I also know that I could not have dreamed of the Volturi either, or that Jacob and his friends were wolves."

"Well," he says. "I have told you bits and pieces about the Volturi over the past six months. You could easily have put it all together in your subconscious. And didn't Jacob tell you about the werewolves after you met me? That could also have triggered your dream. The mind is a funny thing. You never completely lose memories. You just lose the ability to bring them out of your long-term memory.

"But that is the way that human mind works. When you are transformed into a vampire, most of your human memories become very dim. On the other hand, those things that you learn and experience as a vampire remain crystal clear and ready for you to access at any time. No one knows why this is. Carlisle is still studying it."

"So when I am a vampire," I say. "If I want to remember things like today, which has got to be the most perfect day of my life, I will really have to try."

"There is of course another way," he says thoughtfully. "I have never known anyone who consciously planned to become vampire like you are. If you write down all of your human experiences as you now have them, then you would never lose them.

"If you wanted, you could refer back to the journal if you wanted to recall something in greater detail. Obviously no one has ever tried it before, but it might even trigger clear memories of your human life. You could start writing a diary on your new laptop."

I yawn as I feel my body relaxing. It has been a long day. Sitting here discussing my eventual transformation has calmed my mind better than any tranquilizer.

"You are getting tired now," he says. "Why don't we get you into bed under your new warm comforter?"

"As long as you will be with me," I say.

"Of course," he says, as he lies down on the top of the bed.

He then settles me in, so that I am wrapped in the warm comforter and then in his arms. I can feel his sweet breath on my neck.

"I have to admit that I have never felt so warm in your arms before," I say sleepily.

"When Esme designed the comforter, it wasn't just the outer design pattern," he replies. "The down inside is the kind they use in ski jackets. I believe that this is the thousand weight, which is also designed to be lightweight, but can withstand sub-freezing temperatures."

"Your family thought of everything," I murmur.

"They are your family too," he whispers. "They welcomed you as a member on the first day they met you . . . "

I am vaguely aware that he is continuing to talk about how much his family loves me, but my mind is drifting further away from consciousness. Despite my exhaustion, my sleep is restless. At one point, I feel myself breathing heavily and trying to break free from something that is trying to keep me from Edward. I finally wrench myself awake and cry out.

"Edward!"

"I am here, love," he says soothingly. "What's wrong? You were struggling against me, so I finally let go."

I can't talk. I simply sob. I was in the woods again, searching through all of the green, mossy places where I couldn't find him. Like in my nightmares when he was away, I was running but going nowhere. It was simply a large green endless maze. But unlike those nightmares, something grabbed me and was holding me back. Then I realize that it was Sam.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said in the same ominous voice that I first heard when I went to La Push that first time.

"I didn't know it was you," I reply incoherently. "I was looking for you. Sam was holding me back. It was green. It was too green. There was moss everywhere. I was running but I couldn't find you. You're here. Don't leave me! Don't you _ever_ leave me again!"

"I promised you that I would stay," he says as he smoothes my hair back. "I haven't gone anywhere. I am here. I will be here when you wake up. But I will have to leave to go home and change once Charlie is up, and you will need to get ready for school. But I will come to pick you up, I promise."

"It will be different when it is light," I say as I begin to get my bearings. "It's worse in the dark. I don't know why. I've never been afraid of the dark before."

"The nightmare still haunts you," he says quietly. "I'm so sorry. How can I prove to you that I won't leave you?"

"Be here," I say simply. "Just be here."

"I will be," he says as leans back. "Now try to settle in again."

I lie back down, only this time I cuddle into the hollow in his shoulder between his arm and his chest. It is cold and hard, like the rest of his body, but it feels very safe. In an odd way, I find his cold body temperature more secure than any warmth. With one arm wrapped around me and the other hand stroking my hair, he begins to softly hum my lullaby.

His sweet scent fills the air and my senses are flooded with his touch, his voice, and his aroma. My heartbeat settles, my breathing falls into an even rhythm, and I drift into a dreamless sleep, silently praying that I will not wake up and find him gone.

When I open my eyes the next morning, he is smiling down at me. He looks glorious as his skin glows like millions of tiny diamonds. The sun is streaming through the window and I feel deflated. A sunny day means that he will not be with me at school. My disappointment must show on my face.

"You must be the only person in Forks today who is unhappy to see the sun," he says. "Except for one other, of course."

"Yes," I reply. "Except for one other. And I have to work at Newton's this afternoon."

"I don't know what I am going to do with myself," he says. "There is a part of me that would like to hang out in the woods near the school and follow you through your day through other people's eyes. But that is a little too stalkerish."

"It's not like you haven't done it before," I reply.

"Yes," he says. "And my excuse was that you needed my protection. But now you really don't. And I don't like the idea of spying on you."

I look at him with blatant skepticism in my eyes.

"Okay," he admits. "I do like to spy on you, but not in a creepy kind of way. I just hate being away from you. I hate it when I can't see you and make sure that you are safe. And now that I know how much you worried about me leaving, I always want to be close enough that you know exactly where I am."

"I have a new cell phone," I say smiling. "You could text me and send me selfies. And I could text you and tell you how much I miss you."

"Do you really have to work this afternoon?" he asks a little wistfully. "We could go off together to the meadow if you want."

"That's a very tempting offer," I admit.

"But . . ."

"But," I say. "I have to make up for the shift I missed yesterday."

"You really don't need to worry about money," he says.

"I know that you have enough money to buy me everything that I want, not to mention a few things that I don't want," I reply. "But I like the idea of saving up for college."

He looks like he wants to say something and then changes his mind. I know better than to ask him what it is.

"I should really leave now," he says. "I need to get out before the neighbors notice me sneaking out of the window. If they told Charlie, it would destroy all of the progress that I made with him yesterday."

"Okay," I say reluctantly. "When will I see you later?"

"Not until you've gone up to bed for the night," he says. "Remember? I'm going camping with my family today."

"What will you really be doing?" I ask curiously.

"Most likely driving the rest of them crazy," he replies with a smile. "Ever since I started dating you, they dread sunny days because I mope around all day waiting until it's safe to go out and visit you."

"I'm sorry," I say. "But just think. After Carlisle changes me then we can hide out from the sun together. And I won't have to waste any more of my time with you sleeping."

"Don't apologize," he answers. "The few hours that you spend sleeping now will seem like nothing after a few decades with me. You may even get sick of me."

"Never!" I say fiercely. "Does Carlisle ever get sick of Esme? Does Alice ever get sick of Jasper?"

"No," he says. "I was just joking. And trust me, Rosalie and Emmett can never get enough of each other."

I grin and give him my usual enthusiastic kiss, which he has to stop. Then he leaves by the window and vanishes. Humming to myself, I begin my morning routine again. I suppose that every morning that I wake up and find him staring down at me will be further proof that he isn't even thinking of leaving me, let alone actually leaving me. But there is something that I am definitely going to need to check out when I get the chance.

In my nightmare, my friend Jacob Black had turned into a werewolf. He had grown at least six inches in a couple of months and cut off all of his beautiful long hair. If I see him now and he is his old size, which still pretty tall, and has his long hair, then I will know that this is real. But I also have to wonder if he might not have a secret crush on me.

He has always been very eager to monopolize my time whenever we have the chance to be together, which isn't very often. I spent almost my entire summer with Edward. The few times that he and Billy visited or Charlie and I went to La Push, it was impossible to have any kind of private conversation.

And because Billy had been so suspicious of Edward, I also been trying avoid to avoid him, and by extension, Jacob. If his obnoxious warnings before Phoenix weren't bad enough, he sent a mortified Jacob (although willing to be bribed) to my prom with the ominous message "we will be watching."

I wonder how he will feel when he finds out that Charlie is starting to warm up to Edward. But still, I am worried about Jacob. He's a good kid and I don't want to mess around with his feelings.

Well, I decide, I am going to ask Edward to look for any hints of that and tell me if we run into him together. After the way that I hurt him in my dream, I want to make sure that I don't do that in real life. Of course the reason why we had become so close was that Edward left and Jacob had gotten caught up in my whole plot to see Edward by finding ever-new ways to experience adrenaline rushes.

I hope that I would never be so selfish in real life. And I hope that Jacob wouldn't have any reason to hate Edward the way that he did (in my dream). But there still was that weird moment at prom when Jacob had come and de levered the message from his father about how the Quileutes would be watching the Cullens.

Maybe that was another trigger for my crazy ideas in my dream. Even though the nightmare is starting to fade, there are parts of it, the worst parts that are still very vivid. In fact, there are times when I have trouble remembering that all those awful things really didn't happen. A day at school without Edward is not going to help.

The school day drags slowly (as I knew it would) and the shift at Newton's even more slowly. But since the sun is still brightly shining, I know that I wouldn't see Edward anyway. Every once in a while, I catch myself looking at the window, wondering if he is watching me.

Every couple of hours, he texts me to see if everything is okay. Alice texts me a couple of more times, begging me to send him selfies so that he knows that I am not lying about being okay. Even Emmett sends me a text reminding me not to have any funny accidents that he would miss seeing. And Esme sends a couple texts to remind me how much she loves me.

I find myself eagerly reaching for my cell phone every time is vibrates against my butt because I keep it in the back pocket of my jeans. I am stocking shelves toward the rear of the store when it buzzes again.

"I didn't know that you had an iPhone," Mike remarks, when I take it out and laugh at Emmett's text.

"Birthday gift," I say briefly.

"Is that Cullen who keeps texting you?" he asks. "I don't see why he didn't just come to school instead of going camping with his family."

"He doesn't have a choice about the camping trips," I explain. "Carlisle insists that they all go together."

"Huh," he says. "So it's Carlisle instead of Dr. Cullen. You two must be as hot and heavy as Lauren says you are."

"He calls my Dad, Charlie," I point out.

"Everybody in town calls your Dad, Charlie," he retorts rudely. "No, I think that there's something pretty serious up with you and Cullen."

"Are you insinuating something?" I ask testily.

"No," he answers. "I'm doing more than insinuating. You know. That guy is a real weirdo. You could definitely do better."

"Oh, really?" I ask sarcastically. "And I suppose that you have someone in mind?"

"As a matter of fact . . . "

"Mike!" Interrupts his mother sternly, as she comes down the aisle with her heels clicking on the hard wood floor. "Quit gossiping and go up front and talk to the customer there about tent options."

"Yes, Mom," he says obediently.

"Don't pay any attention to him, dear," says Mrs. Newton when he is out of earshot. "He's just jealous. I wish that he would go back to dating Jessica Stanley or some other nice girl and get over you already."

"Oh, um, I guess so," I say uncertainly.

"Look," she says. "I know that he has been making snide remarks to you all summer. But now he has finally crossed the line where it is becoming unprofessional. His father and I both hope that someday he will take over the family business.

"The first thing that he needs to know is that a good business owner respects his employees and does not get involved in their personal lives. Now I know that you two go to school together and I cannot control his words or behavior there, but whenever you are at work, he will no longer harass you with comments about your boyfriend."

"I, um, wouldn't exactly call it harassment," I weakly protest.

"Well, I would and that's all that matters," she says. "And Bella, this is just a little piece of personal advice. Don't let other people belittle you or try to control you. Stand up for yourself, especially with men. If you were my daughter, then that is the exact advice that I would give you. So take it or leave it. But I hope that you will take it. You are a very talented young lady with lots of potential."

"Uh, yeah," I say as she walks away.

I am still dazed by Mrs. Newton's words of feminist wisdom when I pull in the driveway later that evening. I get out of the truck and can see the TV blaring with some sports game or another.

"Hi, Bells," says Charlie as I walk in. "Did you have a good day at school and work?"

"Yeah," I say. "Have you eaten?"

"I had the leftover Chinese food," he answers without taking his eyes off the set. "The dim sum stuff isn't too bad."

"Good," I say. "I'll grab something and go up to my room. I have a ton of homework to do."

"That's nice," he says absentmindedly.

"Yesss!" he shouts as he jumps up in his chair. "Home run for the Mariners! Good job, boys."

As usual, Charlie has more interest in his sports than he does in me. It is no wonder he doesn't know how much time my boyfriend spends in my bedroom. It's kind of funny that he's so afraid that I'm going to move out when he always seems more interested in sports and fishing than he is in me. What does he need me here for anyway except to keep the house and cook his meals for him.

Mom is the same way. She may be driving Dad crazy to talk me into going to Jacksonville, but I know exactly what it would be like. She would be totally absorbed in Phil and miserable when he had to go on the road without her. Although now that I'm eighteen, I'm sure that she wouldn't feel any guilt about leaving me alone to fend for myself.

Maybe Mrs. Newton is right. I should take more control of my life and not worry so much about what will make Charlie and Renee happy. I know what makes me happy and that's being with Edward. I'm too tired to make anything for myself except scrambled eggs and toast. And I'm kind of pissed that Charlie ate my leftovers from last night as well as his own. I had been looking forward to them all afternoon.

I stop by the living room and look in on my way up to my room, thinking that I might say something. But he is so engrossed on the game that he doesn't even notice me standing there. I sigh. If I try and talk to him now, I will only have half of his attention. I decide that I will start standing up for myself tomorrow.

When I open the door to my room, I see the most beautiful sight in the world. Edward is stretched out on my bed with his hands behind his head, smiling at me. I set down my plate and backpack and go over to kiss him, planting a big one on his mouth. When he tries to stop me, I refuse to let go. I'm going to get what I want whether he likes it or not. Instead I force his startled lips open and begin to explore his mouth with my tongue before he can stop me.

Something gives way in him and he flips me on my back and eagerly responds. We have never kissed so intensely before and I feel all sorts of new sensations in my body. Without thinking, I slide my hands down his back and press his backside into my hips as they rise to meet his. Then suddenly, he groans and pushes himself off the bed. I lean back breathing heavily.

He is out of breath too and backs away so that he can sit in the rocking chair. When he calms himself, he looks at me with a combination of fear, love, and exasperation.

"What was that all about?" he finally says.

"I was standing up for myself," I say bravely. "You know, going after what I want."

"I don't think that Mrs. Newton was talking about risking your life," he replies.

"You were listening?" I ask.

"You said that you didn't mind," he points out.

"I did say that and yeah, I really don't," I admit. "Did you hear Mike talking too?"

"Of course," he replies. "He's very lucky that his mother is going to tell him to shape up. I might have hurt him very badly for what he said to you."

"No, you wouldn't," I retort. "Because I would have told you to mind your own business and let me fight my own battles."

He looks at me in surprise and then in wonder.

"You know that I could have killed you just now," he says mildly.

"I think that you've already proven that you wouldn't do that," I reply. "Remember Phoenix?"

"That wasn't what I was talking about," he says. "I came very close to biting you and changing you right here and now. And that would have been a very bad thing."

"Not from my perspective," I say playfully.

"Bella, listen to me," he says seriously. "I've agreed to let Carlisle do the transformation. But if I had done it now, how do you think that Charlie would have felt when you started screaming for me to kill you to stop the burning? I couldn't have gotten you out of here and back to my house quickly enough so that the whole town of Forks wouldn't think that I was murdering you or worse."

"Oh," I say. "I didn't think of that."

And I know that he is right. I can remember how it felt when my arm was burning from James's venom. I am trying not to think about how that would feel all through my body. But then something else occurs to me.

"Can I stand up for myself about something else?" I ask.

"Why are you asking?" he laughs. "You don't need my permission to stand up for yourself."

"But I don't want you to get mad at me," I say.

"That's the whole point," he says. "If you are going to stand for yourself about something, then you shouldn't care what I think. Just say it."

"Oh," I say. "Okay. I want you to change me yourself. I don't want Carlisle to have to do it. And don't tell me that you don't have the self-control. You proved that you do down in Phoenix."

"This conversation was going better before I explained what 'standing up for yourself' meant," he mutters. "And no, I'm not angry with you. But can you explain why you want _me _to do it?"

"Well," I say. "If someone's venom is going to be going all through my circulatory system, I want it to be yours."

He looks at me quizzically.

"That is actually pretty romantic," he comments. "In a weird and macabre sort of way. But then again, vampires are by definition pretty macabre."

"So is that a yes?" I ask hopefully.

"Would you be happy if I said that it's not a no?" he replies cagily. "Can I think about it?"

"Okay," I say. "Oh damn! My eggs are cold."

He laughs.

"They look pretty awful hot or cold," he remarks. "But you have a lot of homework to do."

"Yeah, I know," I say. "And I didn't do any last night."

"That's very true," he says. "Do you want me to leave so that you can concentrate?"

"No," I reply. "I want you to stay so that I can be distracted by how wonderful you are."

"I can handle that," he says with a grin and lies down on the bed again.

I smile and flip open my math textbook. I take a fork full of cold eggs and a bite if cold toast. But I hardly notice the taste. I asked him if he would change me himself and he didn't say no. And I still have almost eight months to persuade him and get my way. With my newfound backbone, maybe I can actually do it.


	5. This is the Day I Stay

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 5: "This is the Day I Stay"**

It's day three since I woke up from the worst nightmare in the history of the world. I shiver as I remember that in that nightmare, this is the day he left. Through my window, I see the sky is grey and cloudy and heave a sigh of relief. Edward will be back in school with me today. But when I look up into his amber-colored eyes, they are very solemn.

"I was talking in my sleep again, wasn't I?" I ask.

He nods. He sits up and leans against the headboard of the bed. I am still lying on my pillow. He strokes my hair and traces the outline of my face from my scalp to my chin. His cool touch is feather-light, as if I am made of glass. If I didn't know that vampires aren't able to shed tears, I might think that he is crying.

"I'm sorry," I apologize remorsefully. "I just don't seem to be able to get it through my thick skull that you aren't going to leave me. I don't want to make you unhappy. I just can't help it."

"That's because it took me so long to get it through _my_ thick skull that the only way that I could keep you safe and happy was to let Carlisle transform you," he says. "I thought that I would be playing God by _taking_ your life, but now I realize that I was really playing God when I took _control_ of your life.

"Even now, the degree of control that you have given me over the course of your life amazes me. You have literally handed me the power of life and death in your destiny. But even worse is the ability that I have to make you so wretched. The thought of you suffering like that because of my foolish mistake makes me sick."

"What was I saying?" I ask. "Was it really bad?"

"A lot of things and it was the repetition of the same things over and over that made it especially painful," he answers nodding. "But at least you weren't yelling as loudly as the last two nights. Most of them were about begging me to come back. Some of them were about the green and mossy maze. That image really does haunt you."

But right now, he is the one who looks haunted. The natural shadows under his eyes look darker and his perfect face is troubled. I think that maybe he has it backwards and _I _am the one with all the power in the relationship.

"I said something else that was worse, didn't I?" I ask.

"Yes," he replies softly, struggling to keep the pain out of his voice. "You kept saying over and over again that I didn't want you. You said that I was sorry that I let things go on for so long. But that wasn't the worst. You said that I told you that I would always love you after a fashion, but our kind are very distractible. I would be able to get over you."

"That's what you said when you told me that you were going away in my nightmare," I answer. "It was those words that made all the difference. And well, today is the third day. In my nightmare, this is the day that you went away. I guess that's why I was anxious."

"Well, in reality," he says fiercely. "This is the day that I _stay!"_

And with those words he begins to kiss me recklessly, with as much passion as I kissed him last night. He leans over me, suddenly covering my body lightly with his own. I know that I should be afraid of his venom-coated, razor sharp teeth, but I'm not. I respond to his kiss by opening my mouth and twisting my hands in his hair as I pull him closer. Physical sensations ricochet through my body as I meld myself to him.

He is cold and hard as ice. Yet, my own soft, warm body molds itself around him. And a newly discovered passion heats my inner core. It is as if he had thrown all caution to the wind as he lets me get closer than he ever has before. I feel the contours of his body and his arousal stirs my own. At this moment, he possesses my very being. There is nothing that I wouldn't give him.

He regains his composure before I do. But instead of wrenching away from my arms as he did last night, he gently loosens them from his hair and then tenderly embraces me. He rolls so that I am now resting on him. We are both breathing hard again, but we slow down together, as I rest my head on his silent chest. He strokes my hair and kisses my forehead.

"This is not safe," he says more to himself than me. "I do not want to hurt you. Even if I don't bite you, I could bruise you if I hold you too tightly, or worse yet crush you. I just don't know how . . . "

He stops mid-speech, for once at a loss for words.

"I have never had these kinds of feelings, these . . . physical sensations before," he finishes. "I don't know if I can control them. But at the same time, I crave the physical intimacy that is the companion to the emotional intimacy that I now share with you. But it's just not . . . possible."

"I've never felt like this before either," I admit, for some reason not the least bit embarrassed by this frank discussion. "And I don't mean emotionally. When we start to kiss like that, my senses go haywire. I don't fully understand why my body is . . . reacting the way it is. I just want . . . all of you."

He looks at me, and smiles.

"And you don't even blush when you say that," he comments. "I believe that we are awakening feelings of long dormant sensuality within each other. I've only read about it. Or I've seen it in other people's minds. But I've never felt it for myself."

"I haven't either," I say. "That's why I've never even to wanted to . . . you know. Only with you."

"Only with you," he agrees, as he cradles me more closely, but still very gently, in his arms.

I snuggle in closer, just enjoying the moment. All too soon, the reality of our day comes into focus once more. Very soon, Charlie will be expecting to see me at the breakfast table, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready to go.

"It's time for me to leave," he finally says. "I will pick you up for school. Unless of course, you would rather drive us."

"No," I say reluctantly. "It's better if you drive. It would be too complicated to explain to Charlie how you suddenly appeared here without a car."

"I just wanted to give you the chance to be in the driver's seat," he says, a little too seriously.

"Are you making fun of me?" I ask feeling insulted.

"Never!" he replies, as I look skeptically at him.

"Okay, maybe a little," he admits. "But I do take your determination to take more control of your life seriously."

He looks at me with an open, honest expression on his face. I swiftly kiss him and with a brief salute (not nearly as snappy as Jasper's), he slips out the window. But the time I can look out, he has already vanished into the woods. I sigh and begin to get ready.

He returns with Alice in the car. Charlie cheerfully greets them as they walk in. The sight of Alice puts him in a much better mood than he would have been in if Edward had come in alone. She begins to chatter away in her wind chime voice about nothing in particular.

"So, Alice," says Charlie, when she pauses to take a breath. "How did you enjoy the camping trip?"

She pouts.

"I would rather have gone to the mall," she says. "But Mom and Dad insisted. You know, everyone else is away at college and a Edward and I go next year so they want to spend all the time that they can with us."

"I have always admired the way that your family spends time together like that," he says. "Around here most of the kids don't want to spend time with their folks."

"Maybe we appreciate our parents more because we are adopted," Edward suggests.

"I never thought of that," says Charlie as he rubs his chin. "That makes sense. I have to be honest. When you first moved to town three years ago, I was worried that all you adopted teenagers would be trouble. But you've never given me a moment's concern. And now your older brothers and sister are out there at Dartmouth. What are you two looking at for colleges?"

Alice and Edward look at each other.

"Somewhere in the Northeast too, like the others," answers Edward. "Dartmouth of course, Cornell, Amherst, Middlebury. We are still working on our lists. We want to be close to the others and each other. We don't want anything in the city."

"That makes sense, seeing that you came from Alaska and moved here," he replies. "I haven't heard of a couple of those places."

"It's not the name that's important," says Alice. "It's the education. Speaking of which, we need to get to school."

"I wouldn't want to make you late," he says. "You working today, Bells?"

"Yeah," I say. "I'll see you later."

It is a relief to get out to the car where we don't have to censor everything that we say. Edward is smiling about something.

"What was he thinking?" I ask with a sigh.

"He was thinking that there is no way that you could get into a school like Dartmouth or Cornell, and even if you did, you couldn't pay for it," he replies.

"I'm glad he has so much confidence in me," I mutter.

"He doesn't know much about the college process," he answers. "You would be eligible for all kinds of financial aid based on your parents' incomes. Your grades are not bad at all. And you come from a state where there are not a lot of kids applying to east coast schools. Your parents didn't go to college, that's a plus. It's not just about you, but also about certain demographic categories."

"I still don't understand why he was thinking about that," I say. "What does he really care about where _you _go to school?"

"He was thinking about how you and I would be separated by thousands of miles if I went to one of those schools," he answers. "He's picturing you in community college, or at one of Washington State schools at best."

But before I can say anything, he glares into the rearview mirror and barks sharply, "Alice!"

"But, Edward . . . " she begins.

"No!" he almost shouts.

"What were you going to say, Alice?" I ask anxiously. "Is something bad going to happen?"

"Nothing bad is going to happen," she says soothingly. "Because now Edward knows that you two have to go straight to class."

As soon as Edward parks, she takes off in the direction of her first class before Edward can even walk around the car to open my door. He always insists on doing this for me because he wants to treat me like a lady. I take his hand as I step out and as we walk toward our English class, he puts his arm around me possessively. I catch a glimpse of Mike Newton out of the corner of my eye.

"Staking a claim?" I whisper.

"Nope," he says looking straight ahead. "Just telling the world that I love you."

It's hard to argue with that answer. I smile up at him, hoping that it tells the world that I love him too. Today passes much more quickly than yesterday. Before we can sit down with our (or rather my) usual group of friends, Alice pulls us over to another table.

"Avoiding another problem?" I ask.

"Something like that," she says. "Lauren has been planning all morning to begin making comments about your rich boyfriend. I thought that you wouldn't want to deal with it."

"Don't you think that I can deal with it?" I ask.

"Well, of course you can," she says immediately. "But why would you want to, if you don't have to?"

I think about it. Why would I want to?

"I don't know," I say slowly. "It's just that it feels like you and Edward are trying to protect me all the time."

"We are," she agrees. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well," I reply looking at Edward. "I don't know if there is anything really wrong with it. But wouldn't it be better if I fought my own battles, you know, stood up for myself?"

"Theoretically," she says. "Yes, but there are some things that you can't fight by yourself."

"Yes, I know," I say logically. "I certainly cannot fight vampires tracking me. But I think that I can handle a human like Lauren."

"Mrs. Newton told Bella yesterday that she needs to learn to stand up for herself," adds Edward. "Mike was bugging her at work and his mother was embarrassed."

"I would be embarrassed too, if Mike were my son," says Alice. "So I guess that I see your point. But I love you like my own sister and I just want to protect you. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, when you put it like that it does," I say. "But even sisters don't run interference for each other all the time. And you won't always be there to bail me out. So I need to be able to fend for myself."

"In human things," she says.

"Yes, in human things," I say. "You can take care of the, um, supernatural things."

"You may be sorry that you said that," she mutters.

"Alice!" says Edward.

"Edward!" I say in frustration. "Why do you keep doing that? It's getting annoying that Alice keeps thinking things that you won't let her tell me. Are _you _trying to protect me too?"

"Bella, I'm always trying to protect you," he says. "But in this case, Alice thinks she knows something that she doesn't know and she should discuss it with me to verify it before she says something."

"You know," I say. "I'm starting to understand why Emmett gets pissed at you two when you do this. It is _very _annoying. And don't say that you don't know what I am talking about."

Before anyone can say anything else, the bell rings. Alice sighs and walks off, as Edward puts his arm around me again. But it doesn't feel possessive like before, it feels more . . . affectionate. Nobody even looks at us anymore. We are simply known as a couple, a couple who are very much in love. I suppose that if kids today still used the phrase "going steady," then that's what they all would say that we are doing.

After school, Edward and Alice drop me off at work.

"I'll pick you up later," says Edward as he kisses me goodbye.

"Okay," I say and walk into the store, feeling like I'm on cloud nine.

In my nightmare, I hadn't worked on the third day. Instead, I had returned home where Edward was waiting to tell me the most terrible news that I could have heard. But even in my nightmare, there is no way that he ever would have promised to come back and get me and not followed through.

However, as the time for the end of my shift grows closer, I begin to watch the door anxiously waiting for him to walk through. Even though he sent me a text saying that he was on his way, I was still not sure if he would be there. I am checking for something in the back when I hear Mrs. Newton's voice out front.

"Edward Cullen!" she says loudly enough that I can hear her from the stockroom. "If it isn't one of our best customers! What can we do for you today, or are you just here to pick up Bella?"

"I could use some more kerosene fluid," he says. "For the lantern, and a new pad for under my sleeping bag. And yes, I am here to pick up Bella."

I chuckle to myself. Not only can vampires see in the dark, they don't sleep. I know that back at their house, the Cullens have enough camping equipment to stock a store of their own. Every spring they donate the largess to a Girl Scout camp across the state for them to give to inner city kids who can't afford their own gear.

That's one great thing about the Cullens. They never waste any of the props they use to keep up their human facade, and then some. Food in the pantry is rotated out to the local food bank. The excessive number of clothes that Alice is always buying, go to Goodwill, many of them with the tags still on them. I go out front to meet Edward.

Mrs. Newton is ringing up his order as I walk in.

"There you are, Bella," she says. "How is our stock of hot packs for gloves and boots?"

"The last time you ordered," I reply. "You must have thought that a battalion of ski troopers was coming through. You have tons of them."

"Good," she says. "But you should see how quickly we run down the inventory by February. They say they last six hours, but it's more like four. The Cullens aren't the only people around who enjoy cold weather camping in the mountains."

Edward grins at me and says, "Hey, beautiful! Are you ready to go?"

"In a second," I say, as I go into the back to hang up my orange best and grab my coat.

"What happened?" asks Mike sarcastically, but in a low voice that his mother can't hear when I reach the back office. "Did your truck break down?"

"My truck is perfectly fine," I reply coolly. "Edward is just being a gentleman and driving me home."

I put the slightest emphasis on the word "gentleman" and Mike looks surprised at the comeback. When I walk over to Edward, he kisses my cheek and whispers in my ear, "Good job!"

On the way home, we stop at the diner where I pick up a spinach salad without the bacon. When we get to my house, Charlie, as usual, is parked in front of the TV.

"Did you eat dinner?" I ask.

"I had a sandwich," he says. "What to do you have there?"

"Spinach salad without the bacon," I reply. "It's a huge salad. Would you like some?"

"No thanks," he says. "The bacon is the best part. Remember that the next time."

I roll my eyes as we walk back into the kitchen.

"It's all about him," I remark. "Last night he ate my leftover Chinese food as well as his own. And I had been looking forward to it all day."

"Did you say anything?" he asks.

"No," I sigh. "It wasn't worth it."

"And just now, you were annoyed because he implied that when you get a salad for yourself, you should take his tastes into account," he says. "Why don't you just tell Charlie how you feel instead of quietly getting more pissed off at him, and stewing over it by yourself?"

"I don't know," I say. "Maybe I prefer to take the easy way out."

"Wouldn't it be easier, not to mention better, to be upfront and honest with him?" he asks. "He's honest with you. You don't have to get all snippy with him."

"He isn't entirely honest with me," I reply. "The only reason that I knew that he was worried about me moving out was because you read it in his mind and told me."

"That's true," he says. "You know, my mind reading has given me a rather exceptional view into human communication. And while I can't see what's in your mind, his side of things tells me that the both of you don't talk about very much."

"We don't," I say. "He's always in front of the TV. And when he eats, it's hard to converse because he keeps shoving food in his mouth."

"Well," he replies. "You might want to cut him a little slack on that. Until you moved in eight months ago, he lived alone. He isn't used to having anyone around to talk to when he gets home from work."

"Why do you care so much about Charlie?" I ask suspiciously.

"Bella, it's not just Charlie that I care about," he says. "It's _you._ Within a year, you are going to make a life change that will mean that you can ever see him again. You haven't spent much of your life with him at all. Don't you want to have some more meaningful memories of him besides being annoyed with him for ignoring you?"

"Well, this is his fault," I reply. "He never wants to do anything with me."

"What have you asked him to do with lately?" he asks.

"Nothing," I have to admit. "I gave up."

"I know that," he says softly. "So I'm asking you, because I love you so much, to start trying. You are never going to be able to get these months back. Please?"

"Is this a subtle plot to keep me human?" I ask. "Because if it is, it's not working."

He rolls his eyes.

"Remember your big insight six months ago when you decided that my eyes changed from golden to black when I was thirsty?" he asks. "Do you remember what gave you that insight? The fact that I was crankier when I was thirsty, like humans. Well, if you don't eat something soon, you are going to start yelling at me."

I look at him sheepishly.

"Okay," I reply, and pull out my salad and begin to eat.

While I eat, Edward stares off into space as if he is having a debate with himself about something. After I am about halfway finished, I can feel my blood sugar rising and my mood lifting. I smile at him.

"It's safe to talk to me again," I say.

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say. "I'm sorry that I'm so touchy about things. It's not just because I was hungry. I'm just having a hard time separating reality from my nightmare right now. My whole life feels kind of surreal. I'm still afraid of waking up."

"I know," he sighs. "And I keep waiting for you to get over it. I think that I'm going to have to be more patient. This whole horrible nightmare has ripped open some of your most painful fears. But I'm serious about Charlie. Is it okay if we go back to that conversation?"

"Yeah," I say. "But you better make sure that he's not listening."

"Trust me, he's not listening," he replies. "I've never heard a mind that could concentrate so completely on a sports game."

"Tell me about it," I grimace.

"Bella, I'm going to say this very plainly," he replies. "And I don't want you to think that I am saying it to convince you to stay human. You've already won that battle, so you can quit sniping about it. When people die, they often regret the unfinished business they left behind when they are human.

"The same is true in reverse. How often do you hear about survivors who regret not making peace with others, or telling some they love them, or not following through on a promise? Charlie is your father, and for that matter Renee is your mother.

"This year will be the only chance that you have to let them know how much you love them. You need to talk to each other and forgive each other, before you leave their lives forever. If you don't, I know that you will be sorry. And eternity is a very long time to carry around those kinds of feelings of guilt. Especially when you can avoid them."

"Because I'm planning this," I finish, avoiding saying the words that I am essentially planning my own death.

"Yes," he answers, avoiding the same explicit statement. "Because you're planning this."

"Do you have any unfinished business from your human life?" I ask after thinking for a minute.

"My memories of my human life are very dim now," he answers quietly. "My clearest memories are of my mother and how much she loved me. I was sicker than she was. Carlisle told me that she gave up her own chance at survival to nurse me. She refused to give up on me."

"What about your father?" I ask.

"My father died first," he says simply. "I can scarcely remember his face. We were not close at all. He wasn't a very warm person. And he had no interest in children. From what little I can remember, it always seemed that he was waiting for me to grow up. And then he was going to mold me into a man like him."

"But you never grew up," I say as I swallow hard.

"In a lot of ways, no, I never grew up," he answers. "I was seventeen then, I am seventeen now, and I will always be seventeen. But I also feel that I am a grown man in many ways. And I am the man that Carlisle raised me to be. He is my role model, but I will never achieve his ideal."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Carlisle is a very humble man," he says. "Perhaps it is because of his upbringing as a minister's son who was destined for the church. Although from what he has told me, it seems that his father was very arrogant, so that may not be an entirely appropriate measure.

"On the other hand, I am not exactly what you would call humble. I have my own internal pride and arrogance that will probably never go away. Exhibit one, during my rebellious years, I had a God complex and thought that I was above the law because I only selected heinous criminals for my hunting. I became police officer, judge, jury, and executioner, all rolled up in one.

"Exhibit two is my opinion that I always know what is best for you because I know so much than you do because I am a vampire with the skill of mind reading. And just as most tragedies, my hubris could easily have been your downfall. It could have been the ultimate tragic irony. By trying to keep you alive, I would ultimately have cause your death."

"And that's why you always think you know what's best for me?" I ask.

"Partially," he says with a smile. "In some cases, I really do know what's best. But in others, I really need to let go and leave certain choices in your life up to you. In this case, I am not trying to tell you what to do. I am just suggesting that you might be able to save yourself some pain later on, if you work on your relationships with your parents now."

"Can I ask you something else?" I say.

"What is it?" he asks.

"What are you and Alice communicating about right now?" I ask. "I can tell that it has something to do with me."

"One of the things about Alice and me is that because we are the two most gifted vampires in the family, we have always stuck together," he says. "When she sees visions, I can see them too. We have been close like this for so long, that we have developed our own private communication about things. It's kind of like twins and their own pre-verbal, secret languages. And we help each other out.

"For example, if Jasper goes too long without hunting, I keep an eye on his mind and she tries to watch his future. However, if he ever does fall off the wagon, it's a split second decision. I can evaluate his state of mind and help to keep him in line before she sees him doing anything. It's kind of the same way with you. She watches you and your future more closely, especially since I can't read your mind."

"So then Jasper has to put up with this too?" I ask.

"It's all part of the package," he says sanguinely. "It's the way the family dynamic works. You and Jasper are each weak in your own ways. You are our mates. Therefore, we both watch out for you two. You should talk to him about it some time. I don't think that you know him very well. He's an interesting person with a very unique perspective."

"I like when you talk like this," I admit.

"Like what?" he asks.

"About the future," I reply. "About me being your mate and living as a member of your family. It makes things feel more permanent."

"They are," he replies. "When I fell in love with you, there was a enormous shift in my being, my inner core. Vampires are not as fickle as you imagined in your dream. I will never love another being, human or vampire, the way that I love you. It is you or no one. It is existence or non-existence. I may have talked about leaving you for your own good in the past, but in truth I never could have left you."

"You said once that you were too selfish," I remember.

"I was being flippant then," he replies. "It's not about selfishness. It's really about . . . adoration, totally unconditional love."

He is silent for a minute and then chuckles.

"When I first met you and realized how unafraid you were of me," he says. "I was positive that you were crazy and that Carlisle would have to find a hospital to care for you. I would have stayed close by and watched over you. It's not just a compulsion to keep you safe. When vampires find their mates, they are almost never apart."

"Do you still think that I'm crazy?" I ask.

"No," he replies. "I think that you love me the way that I love you. But I should really get going so that you can do your homework or you won't even get into community college."

"Ha-ha," I say.

As we walk past Charlie on our way to the door, he barely acknowledges us other than to wave. Just to be on the safe side, Edward just kisses my cheek. I watch as he strolls at a leisurely pace out to his car. He drives away at human speed, but I know that once he turns the corner, he will hit the gas and be home in minutes.

For a long time, I stand and look out into the darkening evening, the time of day called twilight. Sighing, at last I go up to my room where my computer is waiting for me. I have some research to do for the science lab tomorrow. Edward may be my partner, but he never gives away any free answers.

I push the button on the top of the Bose and Edward's piano playing fills the air. Before I sit down to work, I smooth the comforter on the bed. Then I walk over to the mirror and look at the diamond heart that never leaves my neck. I turn on the computer and see that I have a couple of emails. I open the one from Edward first. He sent in a minute ago. It must have been the first thing that he did when he got home.

"I love you, darling. See you soon. Yours forever, Edward."


	6. Charlie's Change of Heart

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 6: Charlie's Change of Heart**

As each day passes, I become more and more accepting of the fact that Edward is really in my life to stay, and my nightmare was nothing more than that, a dreadful nightmare. Every night, I sleep in his arms. He is always with me the minute that he knows that Charlie is in his room for the night. Every morning, when I wake up, he is looking down at me smugly as if to say, "See, Bella? I'm still here."

Each day at school, except for math class, we are always together. And even when we are not, I have my necklace to remind me how much he loves me. Occasionally, I touch it to remind myself that it is really his heart in my hands. Enough time has passed that the other kids have stopped remarking on its probable value. I never take it off, so it is a permanent part of my appearance.

Whenever I am at work, or at other times when we are apart, we obsessively text each other. The first time I went over to his house to visit his family, Carlisle assured me that the iPhone was worth every cent that he paid for it. Edward is a lot easier to live with now when we aren't together. And in my room at home, I play his music over and over again as I wait for him each night.

Tonight before he goes to bed, Charlie sticks his head in the door asks, "Hey Bells! Are you decent?"

"Yeah, Dad," I call back, looking up from the latest email from Renee.

She has begun to write to me every day. The theme of tonight's email is why I need to seriously consider colleges in Florida. Most of her arguments have to do with the weather and proximity to her. Little does she know that Florida's weather, with it's almost perpetual sunshine is only the second reason why I don't want to be there. The first is that she hasn't said much to make me want to move closer to her in the last month or so.

"That's some real pretty music, Bells," he comments. "Even if it is that classical stuff. What is it, Mozart or something?"

"Edward composed it and recorded it for me on his piano at home," I reply proudly.

"A musician, huh?" he says thoughtfully. "I never would have guessed. I always thought of him as more of a math and science type. You know, I thought he would end up being a doctor like his Dad."

I hadn't realized that he had given it that much thought at all.

"Edward is talented at a lot of different things," I say.

"Yeah, I know," answers Charlie grinning. "He's perfect, at least in your mind anyway. But I have to admit. He is growing on me. He really is a good kid. And he sure does take good care of you. I guess I was prejudiced because that fight you had with him last spring made you run away to Phoenix. And then you got hurt so badly when he went down to see you."

"It wasn't his fault that I went and got scared that I would get stuck in Forks like Mom," I defend him. "And it wasn't his fault that I'm the world's biggest klutz. You know ever since then, he's been watching over me so closely that it's driving me crazy."

"Then it's no wonder you haven't had one of your crazy accidents in months," he laughs. "Yes sir, Edward certainly does have his good points."

"I am glad that you have so much confidence in me," I grumble a little sarcastically.

"Bells," he says. "I have confidence in you when it comes to a lot of things, like, say, your cooking. But I am not always sure that you can get from point A to point B without falling over your own two feet. Now if Edward is the one who is keeping you upright, you have no complaints from me. And I have been very nice to him lately, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have," I admit. "And it does make my life easier that you don't hate him anymore."

"Come on, Bella!" he groans. "Cut your old man some slack! I never hated him. I just didn't want him to hurt you. So sue me for being an overprotective father!"

There it was again, that word "overprotective." I feel as if that word follows me wherever I go. I still don't understand why everyone feels that way about me: Mom, Dad, Edward, Alice, and probably all the other Cullens except Rosalie. Even Mike in his own misguided way is overprotective. And then there's Billy Black.

Since my birthday, we have not seen or heard from Billy or Jacob at all. In fact, Charlie hasn't even mentioned them once. A couple of times I thought of asking him, but then I changed my mind. Things got a little dicey with Billy back in the spring when he tried to tell me not to see Edward anymore. And at that time there was no beating around the bush with Billy. He just came right out and said what was on his mind.

Not that I listened. Then, just as now, I thought that it was none of his business. And of course one of the scariest aspects of my nightmare was the whole "Quileute boys turn into werewolves" thing. And there was that weird aspect in the dream that Alice couldn't see the wolves with her future vision. But I don't dare ask her about it now. I don't want to know if it's true or a figment of my imagination.

Nevertheless I am curious about what is going on with the Blacks. I decide that the next day, I will ask Edward if he's ever seen anything in Charlie's thoughts. Since I don't want to start anything that could get tense right before bedtime, I don't want to ask him when he comes in later. He's been touchy about them ever since Jacob's surprise appearance at prom.

So after a totally normal day at school, on the way home, I get my opportunity when the conversation lulls for a minute.

"Edward," I ask. "Have you ever seen anything in Charlie's thoughts about Billy or Jacob?"

"I'm afraid that I can't really pick and choose what I read in someone's thoughts," he replies. "The only thing I can see in a person's mind is what they are thinking at any given moment. Charlie has never once thought about the Blacks in my presence. If you really want to know, all you have to do is mention them. The mere name is usually enough to trigger a flood of thoughts."

"I hate being sneaky like that," I say.

Edward rolls his eyes and turns to me after he parks the car.

"You are worried about being sneaky about _this?"_ he asks almost incredulously. "Bella, you lie to Charlie almost every time you open your mouth when you talk about me. He doesn't know that my family and I are vampires. He doesn't know that I spend every night with you in room while you sleep. He doesn't know that you're planning on becoming a vampire yourself in a year. He doesn't know . . . "

"All right already," I interrupt. "You've made your point. I almost never tell Charlie the truth anymore, so why is this such a big deal?"

I know that I am sounding very cranky, but I can't help it. There are some times when Edward is just so logical. He always seems to be the most logical when I am being illogical.

"Well, I hope that you're not lying when you tell him that you love me," he answers mildly. "When we are together, he does think a lot not only about your feelings for me, but also about where they may be leading us, er, to."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" I ask.

"He is wondering if he should have the, um, _talk _with you," he replies with a little smile. "About safe sex."

"Like he has to worry about that," I say. "I believe that it is impossible to a human and a vampire to have safe sex no matter how many condoms they use."

"This really isn't something to joke about," he answers. "Or get all snarky about. Carlisle has also been debating whether or not he should speak with both of us about it. I haven't mentioned it of course, but I know that he has seen the shift in our relationship toward greater intimacy."

"Don't tell me that he's worried too," I say.

"His greatest fear," says Edward quietly. "Is that we will give in to our more passionate feelings and I will inadvertently kill you. And I'm not talking about changing you. I'm talking more along the lines of all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Bella together again."

"Oh," I reply soberly. "But didn't the transformation fix Esme after she jumped over the cliff? Not to mention Rosalie and Emmett when they were so battered up?"

"What I could do to you is much worse than what any bear or human attackers could," he replies equally soberly. "I am a thousand times stronger than either of them. Carlisle believes, quite rightly, that if I ever destroyed you that way that I would destroy myself. That part of your dream was most certainly true. There is no physical gratification worth that risk to me. I hope that you feel the same way."

"I do," I say. "I never looked at it that way before. There is no momentary pleasure that is worth risking an eternity together with you for."

"I don't know how this conversation became so morbid so quickly," he says. "But if you want to know what is going on with Billy and you don't want to ask Charlie outright, then just mention his name in passing. Whatever it is will surface. Your Dad isn't very good at hiding his true thoughts, even when he is speaking."

We go into the house and sit in the kitchen as I do my homework. Occasionally, I ask him a question, but mostly I work in silence, trying to concentrate while he plays with my hair. At last, he tips up my chin with his fingers and lightly kisses me on the lips.

"Charlie is pulling into the driveway," he says. "What nasty thing were you going to make for dinner?"

"I was going to fry some chicken," I reply, unperturbed by his reference to cooking odors. "It's the fastest. And I'll throw some of those frozen French fries in the oven."

He makes a face as we hear Charlie open the door.

"Hey, Bells!" he calls out. "Hey, Edward! How was your day at school?"

"Hi, Dad!" I answer. "How did you know that Edward was here?"

"I wouldn't be much of a cop, if I couldn't figure out that he was here based on the fact that his car is parked outside my house," he says. "You better remember to start your truck every once in a while or the battery might die. Seems like you don't need to drive it anymore."

We laugh at his somewhat lame joke. At least he is in a good mood.

"You must have had a good day at work," I comment.

"Yeah, it was busy," he says. "A couple of hikers went missing off one of the trails out by La Push. It's a little weird, but they probably just got lost and went out another way so their friends couldn't find them. The woods are pretty thick out there. Most likely they will turn up before dark. I'm starving. What's for dinner?"

"Fried chicken and French fries," I answer.

"Good," he says. "None of that healthy stuff."

"You just reminded me," I answer. "I'll make some broccoli too."

"Great," he says with mock dismay. "I'll have to remember that. Don't mention the word healthy again when you're talking about the menu. About the only thing that George the First ever got right was that he hated broccoli."

Edward laughs out loud.

"That's a good one," he says. "I've never heard him called that before."

"I'm going to go catch up on the game scores," he says, pleased that Edward appreciated his humor. "Call me when you're ready."

"Wow!" I say in a low voice. "He just treated you so . . . normally. It's like he wants to like you."

"Bella," he says patiently. "It's not 'like' he wants to like me. He really is starting to really like me. Every time he sees me it's easier for him to do."

"I know that you're right," I say. "But I'm still having trouble accepting it."

"That doesn't surprise me," he says mildly. "You are having a lot of trouble accepting things these days."

I know he's right about that too, but rather than tell him, I begin fixing dinner. When it's done and Edward has all but gagged to indicate how offensive he finds the smell, he goes to get my dad from the living room.

"You know, Edward," says Charlie as he sits down. "You're missing out on a terrific meal. Bells here, is a great cook."

"I promised my parents that I would be home later for dinner," replies Edward politely. "It bothers my mother when I don't eat her meals."

"That makes sense," he says. "Why do you eat so late?"

"Carlisle usually gets home late from the hospital," he says.

"That figures," says Charlie. "Your father is a good man. He's the kind of man you can respect. He takes that hippo-whatever oath he took seriously. I heard he never turns anyone away, whether they can pay or not."

"My father has been very fortunate financially in his life," answers Edward. "He shares what he can. He knows what it's like not to have enough money to get by on."

"Like I said," repeats Charlie. "He's a darn good man. Of course, not everyone around here appreciates him the way they should."

I become more attentive right away. Last year after I met the Cullens and brought them up to Charlie, he said that the Quileutes refused to go to the hospital ever since Carlisle started working there. This might be my opportunity to find out about Billy and Jacob.

"Hey, Dad," I say casually. "Not to change the subject, but why don't we see Billy Black around here anymore?"

Charlie is silent as he begins to chew more slowly. This is good because it means that he is thinking on his response. It gives Edward more to see in his mind.

"Billy and I have had another little falling out," he says at last. "Don't feel bad about this Edward, but it was about you."

"About me?" Edward asks innocently. "What did I ever do to him? I mean, I don't even know him."

"No you don't," Charlie agrees. "Or the rest of your family either. Your father might have noticed that the Quileutes don't use the county hospital anymore. I'm afraid that it's because of him."

"Don't they trust my father?" asks Edward, putting a bit of injury into his tone. "He's one of the best doctors in the world."

"Well any son is going to say that about his old man, but in this case I fully agree," replies Charlie. "No, he's had some kind of weird prejudice about you and your family since you moved here three years ago. Says you're too white or something . . . "

"Too white?" I interrupt.

"Sounds real crazy, doesn't it?" says Charlie. "I mean, all folks got different skin tones. Come to think of it, you look pretty white yourself, Bella."

"But how do you know that it's Edward's fault that he doesn't come over to visit?" I ask ignoring his comment on my pale skin tone.

"He told me that if I was smart, I wouldn't let you date him," he replies. "As if I could stop you. I told him that you were old enough to decide for yourself which guy you want to date. After all, you just turned eighteen."

"Is he mad that you told him that?" I ask.

"Not really mad," he says thoughtfully. "It was more along the lines that he thought you holding back something from me."

I bite back a snide comment because I want to keep Charlie talking. It's not as if Billy is being entirely truthful either. He knows everything that I do about the Cullens, but he is afraid of breaking the treaty. Little does he know that Jacob broke it months ago, and the Cullens know it, but haven't acted on it. I wonder if the Quileutes would show the same decency if one of the Cullens unknowingly broke the treaty.

"What about Jacob?" I ask. "Is his father forbidding him to come into town too?"

"Bells," says Charlie patiently. "Jacob is only fifteen. The last time that he drove Billy here, I told him never to do it again. Friend or not, I am the local law enforcement and I can't make any special exceptions for my friends."

I wonder what Charlie would think if he knew that Jacob had driven into town on the night of prom to deliver Billy's obnoxious message. But naturally, I am not going to mention that. Edward is looking thoughtful, and I suspect that he is going to be leaving soon to talk to Carlisle.

"Well, Bella, Charlie," he says proving my suspicion. "I need to get home or I'm going to keep the rest of them waiting to eat. Can I pick you up for school tomorrow morning, Bella?"

"Yes, please," I say smiling as I get up to walk him to the door.

"I'll tell you about it when I come back," whispers Edward as he gives me a peck on the cheek.

I go back into the kitchen and begin clearing the dishes.

"Well, Bella," says Charlie. "You certainly have picked a nice young man for yourself, no matter what Billy says. He's polite and thoughtful about his family's feelings. And he treats you real good. He doesn't take you for granted, that's for sure. He doesn't come over here just to eat and make you cook for him. And he always asks if you want a ride to school."

"Yeah, Edward's pretty special that way," I say.

"And he's got that nice sister, Alice, too," he adds. "You should ask him to bring her by tomorrow. I like to see you having a good girlfriend like her. She is your good friend, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I answer. "It's pretty safe to say that she's my best friend. But Angela Weber runs a close second."

"You sure do know how to pick them," he says nodding to himself. "Minister's daughter, doctor's daughter. Both good girls who are loyal to their friends."

"What are you beating around the bush about, Dad?" I ask.

"Well, I know that Jessica Stanley is a pretty good friend too," he says looking uncomfortable. "And, well, I don't want to interfere with your social life so maybe I should just keep my mouth shut."

I can already see where this is headed, so I decide to just encourage him say his piece. Sooner or later he'll tell me anyway and it will just bug him until he says it.

"Don't worry, Dad," I say. "You're not interfering. Why don't you just tell me what you heard?"

"Well, Jessica's mom is a pretty big gossip, kind of like her daughter I guess," he says. "Now don't let this upset you, but Jessica's friend Lauren was over visiting the other day and they were making all kinds of . . . innuendos about you and Edward and your, um, love life."

"Like they would know," I mutter.

"Well, that's what I told Mrs. Stanley," he says. "I told her that you and Edward had a good, solid relationship and that he wasn't the kind of boy to, uh, take advantage of you like that."

"No, he isn't," I say as staunchly as I can without sounding defensive. "Edward is a perfect gentleman, which is more than I can say for the a lot of the other boys at school."

"Well, I know that and you know that," he says. "But I don't like these rumors."

"I don't either," I say. "And Alice heard them too, but we decided that if we tried to address them that they will just go on longer. Or people will say that we are trying to hide something. But Dad, I promise you, we aren't hiding anything."

Except for a lot of stuff completely unrelated to sex, I think to myself. But Charlie is looking directly into my eyes and he can see the honesty of my words about our physical relationship there. It's one of those times when I am lucky that he _is _the chief of police. He is pretty good at sniffing out liars.

"Bells, you don't need to defend yourself to me," he says. "But I think that you should stay away from Jessica and this girl Lauren. They sound like bad news."

"Don't worry, Dad," I say. "I will."

And this is one promise that I will have no trouble keeping. Ever since the day that Alice insisted that we not eat lunch with them, we haven't. Angela and her boyfriend Ben sit with us at our new table, and so does Eric Yorkie. But Mike knows better than to try.

The other kids seem torn. They look like they want to get away from Lauren, Jessica, and their poison tongues, but they are afraid of ending up on the wrong end of them too. I can't feel mad about that.

Once Edward explained it to me, I even felt bad for them. They don't like listening to their gossip at all, but they feel trapped. I don't care what they say about me. And since I have Edward, I really don't care about much else at all. I am happy that Charlie is starting to form a genuine relationship with him, even if Renee has yet to come around.

Edward explained to me that her biggest problem with him was the fact that she knew down in Phoenix that he was the reason that I wanted to return to Forks. She had hoped that since she and Phil were pretty much going to be permanently living in Jacksonville, there was no reason for me to live with Charlie.

The fact that I was now eighteen gave her no more leverage with me than Charlie had about where I lived. At eighteen, I now have custody of myself and I can live wherever I want. It's kind of ironic that after feeling for a while like nobody wanted me, now it feels like everyone does. But the only one who matters is Edward. And Renee is so far away that I really don't care if she likes him or not. Charlie is another story.

When I go upstairs, I find the usual long, chattering email from Renee that basically sounds like a laundry list of her activities for the day. At least there are no sermons tonight. I answer with an email of my own, running down the things that it have done, downplaying Edward's role in my daily life as usual. Once I am finished with that, since my homework is done, I take my shower and get ready for bed.

After I'm done and say goodnight to Charlie, I return to my room to see Edward sitting in the rocking chair waiting for me.

"Hey, beautiful!" he says sniffing my hair. "You smell good again, not like cooking oil anymore."

"I didn't smell like cooking oil!" I object.

"Not to a human nose," he says. "On the other hand, the vampire sense of smell is much more acute."

"So did you find out more about Charlie and Billy's falling out?" I ask.

"More than you probably want to know," he says. "But knowing you, you will want to know anyway, right?"

"Right," I say and settle into his lap to listen.

_Author's Note: Thanks to the anonymous reviewer who picked up on the anachronistic dates of the Apple gifts in Chapter 3. My intention had been to push up the story by two years (2008). In one version I had used that year in the Chapter 1 look at the cell phone. _

_However through all its various iterations, I guess the change didn't make it into the published version. I figured that since no actual dates were ever mentioned in the original text, fudging a little couldn't hurt. I have since corrected Chapter 1 so that everything is consistent._


	7. Another Nightmare

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 7: Another Nightmare**

It had been a normal night at dinner with Charlie and Edward, when the topic of Billy and Jacob Black and their recent absence from our lives came up. Actually, I was the one who introduced them into the conversation because I was curious.

As we had suspected, it was due to my increased involvement with Edward and his family. Luckily, Charlie was on our side. He had always resented the way that the Quileutes had shunned Carlisle since he began working at the county hospital. Especially since it was to their own detriment.

But then again, Charlie had no idea of why the Quileutes refused to accept his first class medical skills. And the idea that they were "too white" made no sense to him at all. He knew that some white people considered other people "too black," so his immediate reaction was that it was a racial thing.

He had no idea that it was more of a "supernatural prejudice," but there was no way to even begin to explain it to him. Charlie is a practical, common sense kind if person. His world is firmly grounded in reality. Some people might think that he is uncreative, but it is more like he is just very fair and logical. It makes him an effective police officer and an essentially kind man.

Now that I had gone up for the night and showered, I entered my bedroom to find Edward waiting for me. That meant that Charlie had said his final goodnights and was going to go to bed soon himself.

"So what happened between Charlie and Billy that has them feuding again?" I ask Edward, as I sit down in his lap.

"Feuding is probably too strong a word," he answers. "But when they went fishing together last weekend, they had words. It was the first time that they had seen each other since your birthday and Charlie was telling him how relieved he was that you didn't put up a fuss about celebrating it and getting gifts.

"He also confided in him that he was afraid that you were going to move out. He had been worried that you loved me more than him. And since my whole family loves you so much, he assumed that they would let you move in if you wanted to be with me all the time. Needless to say, he's happy that you are still here living with him."

"That doesn't sound so bad," I say slowly.

"If the conversation had stopped there, or after Charlie had just told him about your new computer, it wouldn't have been bad at all," says Edward. "The problem was that Billy asked if you got anything else."

"Oh," I say quietly. "And Charlie told him."

"There was no reason for him to keep it a secret," he points out. "You wear the necklace all the time and seem permanently attached to the iPhone, like any normal teenager I might add. Not to mention the fact that you use the Bose every night.

"But why would he hide the gifts from him anyway? They're just presents from your boyfriend and his family, even if they are a little expensive. And it's no secret that my family is very well off and can more than afford them. The necklace is the most valuable, but it is also a hand-me-down. And he didn't know about the music CD until last night, so he obviously didn't mention that."

"Was he thinking about that tonight?" I ask. "The music that is."

"I could hear him thinking about it _last_ night," he replies. "Jessica's mother had said something to him about us and our 'love life' that upset him. He was trying to square her innuendos with a solid, clean-cut guy who composes classical music for his girlfriend. And he couldn't. He decided that she was nothing but an old gossip."

"He was talking about that tonight after you left. Mrs. Stanley that is," I say. "He told me that I should stick to nice girlfriends like Angela and Alice and to stay away from girls like Lauren and Jessica."

"That's what he was thinking tonight when I left," he replies. "In fact he was planning to ask you to bring Alice over tomorrow."

"That's right, he did," I say. "Will you ask her?"

"I already did," he says with a smile. "And she said yes."

"Good," I say. "Now what happened with Billy last weekend?"

"Billy insinuated that we, meaning my family and I, were trying to 'buy you' with all kinds of expensive gifts," he answers. "And he made it sound like we were setting you up for something, well, bad."

"Like what?" I ask nervously.

"Billy was pretty vague about that," Edward replies. "Remember, he has to watch what he says or he will break the treaty. But withholding details from a cop like that was worse than if he had actually said something specific. I'm almost sorry that Charlie is so mad at him. I would really like it if he would come over so that I could hang out in the woods and listen to his thoughts. Carlisle and I discussed it and we don't like the sound of it."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The treaty states that we cannot go on Quileute land, which is a a no brainer," he says. "But it also states that we can't bite anyone."

"Bite as in for meal purposes?" I ask hesitantly.

Edward shakes his head.

"Bite as in bite," he says soberly. "If a vampire bites and does not feed, he creates another vampire. You know that and so do they. That was the intention behind the stipulation when they made it sixty years ago or so. I saw it in their minds. It would be valuable to know if Billy suspects that one of us may change you."

"Why would he suspect that?" I ask.

"It's logical," he replies "Now remember that this is all hypothetical, but Billy, like everyone else in town, knows that we are dating. He has suggested on more than one occasion to you that you break up with me. And now he has told Charlie that _he _should break us up.

"The Quileutes do have a legend about a vampire they killed whose mate returned for revenge. Therefore, they know about the powerful attraction and loyalty between vampire mates first hand. From the Quileute perspective, if you are my mate, you could be big trouble."

"How do _you_ know what they know?" I ask curiously.

"The night that we made the treaty with Billy's father Ephraim, all the tribal elders were thinking about their legends," he answers. "They have had some nasty run ins with vampires in the past. The only reason they made the treaty was that they assumed that we were going to attack them even though Carlisle assured them that we wouldn't. At that time, we outnumbered them five to three."

"But now it's seven to zero," I say. "So they are extremely outnumbered. And one more makes eight, even if it is I, and I am an old friend."

"It doesn't matter who it is," he agrees. "One vampire is the same as any other. The minute that you are no longer human, you become the enemy. But I also think that he probably feels bad for Charlie. He knows that your father is going to lose you unless we break up. So Billy is going to have to play the only card he has right now, the treaty."

"So in order to change me, we will have to leave first," I say slowly. "Or we are breaking the treaty."

"We were always going to leave first, Bella," he explains. "You know that once you are a vampire you can never see anyone who once knew you as a human again. You will look very different. And for a year, we are going to have to keep you away from all humans anyway. I will explain why another time."

"But I can still talk to Charlie on the phone, right?" I ask. "I can pretend that I am away at school and just keep making excuses for not coming home."

"That won't work," he says gently. "Your voice is going to change also. And in the early years after the change, it will have a higher pitch than a mature vampire's."

"Oh," I say. "So you really do think that Billy is going to try to use the treaty to keep me human."

"I can't say," he answers. "But I think that is why he is trying to hint around that something bad will happen to you if you continue to see me. We can't be sure, but he may call a meeting with us and confront Carlisle and me about it. He will say that he is doing it for Charlie's sake, but I think that's only part of it.

"However, one good thing is that he doesn't know that I can read minds. It's a huge advantage because he won't realize that he has to censor his thoughts around me. You are the only one outside the Cullen family who knows this in Forks. Other vampires know it, but that has no bearing in the human world."

"What are we going to do?" I ask. "Have you changed your mind about transforming me?"

"No, not at all," he says. "And we have about six or seven months to work out the logistics. But you should start applying to colleges too, in the northeast, where Alice and I are applying. We need to start establishing the story now about you going to school with us.

"In order to remain in the human world, we have become very good at establishing new identities and creating new narratives. It is something that you will have to learn too. You are a terrible liar. You will have to get better at it."

"What if I don't get in?" I ask. "And what if I mess up?"

"I already explained to you that there are a lot of ways that you can get in on your own merits," he answers. "And if you can't, there are always other ways. As for messing up, we all have. But getting you into college is the least of our worries."

"How are you going to do that? Bribery?" I ask.

"Yes, it is one of several options," he replies sanguinely. "People do it all the time. It's called making a strategic donation. But I think that you will feel better about it if you apply on your own. And I think that you will be surprised how successful you will be. You don't give yourself enough credit."

"What if I can't pay for it?" I ask, but he shakes his head.

"It's getting late," he answers, quickly changing the subject. "You have enough to think about for one night."

I have to agree. At the moment, the school where I go to college next year really _is_ the very least of my worries. My primary concern is making sure that Billy doesn't do anything to turn Charlie against Edward again. We move over to the bed where I curl up against his side as he wraps his arms around me in the comforter. Despite the chill of his body, I always snuggle in close.

"One advantage to changing you," comments Edward. "Is that we will both be the same temperature. We won't need all these layers between us."

"Do they bother you?" I ask sleepily.

"No, not really," he replies. "They keep you safer, less temptation if you know what I mean. Now sleep, my sweet Bella. You know that I will be here in the morning."

And I do. As I drift off, I hear him softly humming my lullaby.

"I love you, Edward," I murmur. "More than my own life."

"I know that better than anyone," he whispers. "You are sacrificing your human life to be with me."

"Forever," I say.

"Forever," he agrees as I fall into a peaceful slumber, submerging my senses in the irrefutable evidence of his love.

But at some point in the night, my peaceful, dreamless sleep suddenly turns bizarrely frightening. There is a part of me that knows it is a dream. The sun is too bright, the colors to intense. Everything around me is too big to be real. But it still feels very immediate.

Edward and I are lying in our meadow and the sun is shining on us. We spent a lot of time out there during the summer, but most of the days were cloudy. This day is different. Edward's skin is glowing like a million sparkling diamonds, exactly like the first time he revealed himself to me. Everything is perfect.

We are laughing about something and he leans in to kiss me when the voice of Billy Black roars in my ears. He is seated in his wheel chair rolling toward us at a great speed. Because we are lying down, he is coming at us from above. The perspective makes him seem larger than he really is.

"Keep your teeth away from her, you parasite!" he yells. "Bella! Get away from him before he kills you, or worse turns you into one of them!"

I scream and Edward picks me up. Cradling me in his arms, he carries me away towards the woods. I feel safe. I know that with his vampire speed there is no way that Billy can keep up in his wheelchair. And once we hit the woods, Edward can have us up in the trees in no time.

"Don't worry, Bella," he says easily. "We are in Cullen territory. They can't harm us here."

They? Who are _they? _I look over his shoulder and see five enormous wolves gaining on us. But it isn't me that they want to harm. It's Edward. I hear growling and barking growing louder behind us, and Billy's voice rising over the din.

"Get him, boys," he says. "But don't hurt Bella."

I scream when suddenly, the big, black Sam wolf from my nightmare takes Edward down the way he took Laurent down in my other nightmare. Edward holds me protectively in his arms, perhaps losing his own chance to escape, so that I don't feel any injury when we hit the ground.

The other wolves are right behind Sam and wrestle me from his arms as they begin to tear him apart, their huge teeth snapping. The horrible sound if a vampire being taken apart when I heard Emmett and Jasper destroying James, literally rings in my ears. The big, red Jacob wolf grabs me by the shirt collar and drags me away as I scream for them to stop.

"No! No!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Don't hurt him! He isn't hurting me! He isn't hurting anyone! Let me go! Let me go to him! Edward! Stop! Stop! No! Help us! Someone help us! They're killing Edward!"

"Bella! Bella! What is it?"

Charlie's voice is anxiously calling me as he shakes me awake. I am alone in bed and start wailing.

"Edward! Edward! Where is he? They're trying to kill him!" I cry. "Daddy, please stop them! Daddy, Daddy! You have to stop them!"

I haven't called Charlie, Daddy in at least ten years. But now he is the only thing between sanity and me. Where is Edward? Why isn't he here with me? Did the wolves get him after all? I am completely hysterical as Charlie takes me gently in his arms to sooth me.

"Hush, Bells. Hush," he whispers softly. "It was just a nightmare. I'm sure that Edward is fine. Remember? He left earlier to go eat with his family. He's going to pick you up in the morning to drive you to school."

"They're going to kill him, Daddy," I shout, now nearly choking on my sobs because I can't shake the nightmare from my mind. "You have to stop them! Save him, Daddy! Please save Edward!"

"Who, Bella? Who? What? What is happening?" he says, his voice rising in frustration. "Wake up, honey! Everything is fine. You must be having a nightmare. Let go of it! You're right here, safe in your own bed. Edward isn't even here. Think about it, Bells. He's home and safe in his own bed. Do you think that Carlisle would let anyone or anything hurt him?"

He holds me close and begins to stroke my hair as I clutch at his shirt and gasp with less terror for him to help us. I am no longer shrieking and the panic is draining from my mind. Somewhere, in some small, remaining logical part of my brain, I know that Charlie is right. Then he reaches one of his arms away from me.

"Here, Bells," he says, as he turns on the Bose. "Listen. It's his piano music. Remember? It's the song that he wrote for you."

As the familiar lullaby penetrates my consciousness, my sobs finally quiet and Charlie holds me tenderly in his arms. The music is real. The dream, the nightmare was not real. It was my irrational imagination convinced that the most important person in my life is in danger. As I return to full consciousness, it recedes back into whatever dark portion of my brain from which it came.

"There, there now, honey," he murmurs softly. "Nothing is wrong. It's just a bad dream. I suppose that we had a little too much negative talk about Edward tonight. I shouldn't have told you what Billy said. I had no idea that it would set you off like this. I know how much Edward means to you. But he's not going anywhere and nothing is going to happen to him. Daddy will keep you both safe."

It doesn't bother me in the least that Charlie is talking to me like I'm a child. As the haze in my mind begins to clear, I realize that Edward isn't here with me in bed because Charlie is. He must be close by, upset because he can't be with me to comfort me and assure me that he is fine. But Charlie isn't going anywhere until I have calmed down.

"I'm sorry, Dad," I mumble, as I slowly regain my composure. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I'm sorry that you had such a bad nightmare," he says. "It was like you were two or three years old all over again and had one of your night terrors. But you have no reason to be afraid that anything will happen to Edward. He's a good boy and he stays out of trouble."

"I know," I say. "But I just worry when Billy talks about you not letting me see Edward anymore. I know how mad you were at him after we got back from Phoenix. I don't want you to hate Edward."

"Listen, Bells," he says, taking me by the shoulders and looking into my eyes. "I thought that I made it clear that I don't care what Billy says. And I thought that you understood that I don't hate Edward and I never did. That boy means the world to you.

"I may not be the most romantic guy out there, but I can tell that this is more than a crush or puppy love. And everyone can see how much he cares for you, how much he loves you too. I would never do anything that would stand in the way of your happiness. Do you understand?"

I nod, too moved to speak. Essentially, Charlie has just given our relationship his blessing. He trusts Edward not to hurt me more than he trusts the warnings of his best friend that he will. But right now, all I want is Edward, and he's not coming back until Charlie is back in his own bed.

"Thanks, Dad," I say quietly. "I feel a lot better now."

Charlie looks searchingly into my face and seems satisfied with what he sees. He hands me a tissue so that I can blow my nose and then stands up a little awkwardly.

"It's been a long time since you called me Daddy," he says in a voice filled with emotion. "Don't you ever forget that no matter how old you are, you will always be my little girl. Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Dad," I say, and curl up on my side and close my eyes so that he thinks that I am going back to sleep.

The minute he closes the door, I am wrapped in a pair of ice-cold arms.

"Edward!" I whisper. "You're here!"

"I never left," he replies in a hushed voice. "I ducked into the closet as soon as I heard Charlie wake up and decide to rush in here. It was close. All of the sudden you were screaming as if someone was trying to kill you. I didn't want to leave your side, but I didn't have a choice."

"I know," I reply. "I guess I was lucky that I was so incoherent."

"What you were saying made very little sense to me," he says. "But it made no sense at all to Charlie. For a minute he couldn't tell if it was a vivid dream or a horrible memory of some terrible event that you hadn't told him about. He decided on the dream because it was about me."

"Did he really mean it when he said that he would protect you?" I ask. "Or was he just trying to make me feel better."

"Yes, he did," he replies. "And not just to make you feel better. In fact, he is worried that might you know about some threat to me that he doesn't. I'm sure that he will be questioning you in the morning. Right now he is thinking about calling Carlisle. He wants to alert him that I may be in some danger."

"He's still awake?" I ask nervously.

"He loves you very much," he says tenderly. "As I do. He may not get much sleep tonight. He is on the alert for any more upset on your part. He is going to be watchful for another nightmare. If you make more noise when you go back to sleep, he will be in here in a flash."

"That won't be a problem," I say. "I have no intention of falling asleep again."

"I think you will," he says. "You are too worn out physically and emotionally not to. Do you want to tell me about your nightmare?"

"It didn't start out as a nightmare," I say, as I snuggle into his arms. "At first it was a beautiful dream. We were sitting in our meadow and the sunlight was beautiful. Your skin was sparkling like a million tiny diamonds. You leaned forward to kiss me and suddenly Billy was there, rolling towards us very quickly.

"He was shouting something at you, and then you picked me up and started to run. You said that we were safe because we were in Cullen territory. But Billy told them to get you and keep me safe. Then the black Sam wolf from my other nightmare took you down and the other wolves helped him rip you apart. Then the red Jacob wolf was dragging me away and I was screaming and crying.

"The next thing I knew, I heard Charlie's voice and he was shaking me to wake me up. But all that I knew was that you were gone. It was so confusing. I thought that maybe I was waking up from my perfect dream of the last few weeks and into a third reality, a really bad one, like the first one when you went away. Only now it was worse because someone else was taking you away from me . . . forever."

"That's what I figured," he replies. "Not the details, but the overall narrative. I don't know what more I can do to set your mind at rest. Especially when you get so touchy any time anyone tries to protect you. Tonight, when you were with Charlie, was the first time that I have seen you willingly accept someone's offer of protection."

"It wasn't for me," I admit. "It was for you."

"I was hoping that wasn't the case," he sighs. "But it's to late to discuss this. You have to try and get some sleep now or you will be a mess later today. You have to get up for school in a few hours."

"You'll still be here?" I ask.

"Of course," he says. "There is nowhere else for me to go."

I nestle myself into his arms, but sleep eludes me for a long time. I try to dismiss the nightmare from my mind by thinking happy thoughts, but I can't. The images of the big black Sam wolf and the russet-colored Jacob wolf refuse to be banished. They look more real to me than they have since I woke up on my birthday.

As hard as I try to figure things out, between my exhaustion and the sound of Edward's piano playing on the CD, I fall back to sleep. But I am really only half asleep. I feel myself turning in Edward's arms as he strokes my hair and softly sings to me when the CD is finished.

Suddenly, I sit bolt upright, alone in bed, with grey light coming in the window. Edward is sitting in the rocking chair one second and in the next I am back in his arms.

"You were so restless that I finally decided that you might settle down best if I left you free to thrash and flail about," he says gently. "But I have never left you for a second. You really do need to get up now. Charlie just finished in the bathroom and I have to go home to change and pick up Alice."

"Why are you going to get Alice?" I ask.

"Charlie wants to talk to her about something," he replies. "Besides, she's coming back here with us after school, remember?"

"I have to work," I mumble.

"If you can manage to stay awake the whole day in school, I will be surprised," he answers. "You need to take the afternoon off."

"Okay," I reply, mostly because I can hardly keep my eyes open as it is.

He stands by the window, alert for a moment so that he can see if anyone is looking and then slips out. In an effort to wake myself up more, I take a quick shower without washing my hair. Then I drag on a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt over a white tee shirt. I drag my brush through my hair carelessly and then slide my feet into my sneakers. The only thing that looks the least bit nice about me is my necklace.

When I get downstairs, Charlie looks up from his fried eggs and toast.

"You look like hell, Bella," he remarks after a quick glance. "Are you sure that you don't want me to call you in sick today?"

"Thanks for the compliment," I say in a much crabbier tone than he deserves. "But I'd rather go to school than stay home alone."

"I'll overlook the sarcasm because you had a rough night," he says mildly. "Look, I know that you want to go to school to be with Edward, but you really look like you could use a few more hours sleep. How about we compromise and you go in late?"

I am standing there trying to think of answer that isn't obnoxious when we hear a knock at the door.

"Darn it!" he says looking up at the clock. "We're both late now. That must be Edward. I'll get it. You sit down and eat."

"Yes, Dad," I say obediently.

As I am pouring my Cheerios, I hear him say happily, "Alice! What a nice surprise! I'm glad two of you came this morning. Be careful how you talk to Bella though. She's had a rough night and is a little cranky."

"What do you mean?" asks Alice as if she doesn't know.

"I don't have time to explain because I have to get to work," he says. "But she had a terrible nightmare. Try and get her to talk about. Last night she was just beside herself. She didn't make much sense."

"Don't worry, Charlie," says Edward. "We'll take good care of her."

"Thanks, son," he replies. "I know I can count on you."

My ears go on high alert and despite the fact that I feel like I've been run over by a train, my heart soars. Did Charlie just call Edward, _son? _Now I know that's just one of those expressions that he uses with younger guys, but there was real affection in his tone. Then I sag. What if this really is a dream? This whole episode is edging toward perfection again. It can't be real.

"Bella you look awful," says Alice as she and Edward walk in. "You look like you need a spa day."

"Charlie is really worried about you," says Edward before I can respond. "He thinks there's something that you're not telling him."

"There's a whole lot that I'm not telling him," I say wearily, but not sarcastically. "But that's probably not what you mean."

"No," says Edward. "His detective instinct is telling him that there is some kind of threat to your safety, as well as mine. But Alice doesn't see anything bad happening to you."

"What about you?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says. "Whatever someone might do to either of us, he hasn't decided to do it yet."

"Bella, I really think that you should stay home," says Alice. "I see you falling asleep in math today."

"We can stop for coffee on the way in," I say. "I don't want to stay home alone. And the way that Charlie will be watching me today, he will know right away if either of you stay with me. Then he will really worry."

"Well, if you don't feel well enough to stay the whole day," says Alice. "We can take you to our house. Carlisle isn't working today. I'm sure that Charlie wouldn't object if he took a look at you."

"Okay, I can agree to that," I say. "Let's go before we are late."

Edward swings my backpack over his shoulder and then swoops down to give me a kiss.

"Everything is going to be just fine," he says. "I promise."

"How can you be so sure?" I ask.

"I've been keeping an extremely close eye on both your futures since your birthday," says Alice. "There is nothing that is going to happen."

"That anyone has decided yet," I finish.

Edward and Alice exchange one of their annoying glances that I am going to have start getting used to if I want to be happy for the rest of eternity. However, it doesn't bother me the way that it did yesterday. I am finally starting to realize that whatever is going on with between the vampires and the theoretical werewolves, it isn't something that I can understand or protect myself from. They are my future and I need to start listening to them.

I am in much too deep. I love Edward to the point where I know that I can't live without him. And it seems that even though I don't want Billy sticking his nose in business, I am stuck with his so-called protection. His mission appears to be both personal and in the name of his tribe. Not only does he wish to eliminate Edward from my life, he also wants to chase the entire Cullen family out of Forks.

And now Charlie is stuck in the middle of it all. He doesn't know the true nature of either the Quielutes or the Cullens. He is blindly determined to take the Cullen side for my sake. But if he knew that the fight was potentially between vampires and werewolves? What would my poor, practical, literal father do? If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be in this kind of situation, I would have laughed in his face.

As we walk out the door, Alice puts her arm around my waist. Despite her diminutive size, I know that she, with her foresight, is just as able to protect Edward and me as Emmett is with his brute strength. Mentally, I tick off the various members of the Cullen family and all the ways they can protect us. I want to be able to guard Edward too, just as he is guarding me.

If we can only hold out another eight or nine months, I know that everything will be okay. We will get away from Forks. Carlisle will turn me into a vampire. And Edward and I will start college. At least I hope it will happen that way. When I'm feeling better, I am going to see the college counselor and start applying to schools.


	8. Of Quileutes and Cullens

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

_Author's note: I wish that I had time to respond to your great reviews individually, but I am really down to crunch time at work. My youngest daughter us being confirmed next weekend and my oldest is getting married the next weekend. I'm really looking forward to June 13 - graduation day for my school!_

**Chapter 8: Of Quileutes and Cullens**

School isn't really as bad as all that. Despite the fact that I had maybe the worst night's sleep of my life, one giant cup of coffee picked up on the way to school, helps me to stay alert. I take it easy in my classes. Edward chivalrously carries my backpack for me through the hall, and when she is close by, Alice links her arm through mine.

Most of the other kids either ignore us or roll their eyes. Edward whispers to me that some of them think that he is old-fashioned for his gentlemanly behavior. The girls are envious of his attentive care and the boys are annoyed because they are afraid that he is raising the bar of expectation for them by their girlfriends. By midday, I am dragging again. At lunch, Angela notices how tired I looked.

"Are you feeling okay, Bella?" she asks anxiously, making me think that I look much worse than I actually feel. "You look like you didn't get any sleep at all last night."

"Oh, I really wasn't feeling so good when I got here," I reply, purposely dodging the sleep question. "But I'm feeling better as the day goes on. And I'm going to bed early tonight."

"Don't you usually work today?" she says.

"I already called Mrs. Newton," I explain. "She agrees that I need to go home, get my homework done, and turn in early."

"Don't worry, Angela," says Alice instantly putting a stop to this talk of tiredness. "We are going to make sure that Bella gets home safely."

The afternoon passes relatively quickly. Since I have all my classes with Edward and my most difficult problem is not sitting with my head on his shoulder and falling asleep. As soon as he figures this out, he shifts a little aware from me to avoid temptation. When history class is finally over, we head for the parking lot where we are meeting Alice at the Volvo.

Suddenly we see her at the door of the school, looking worried. Edward's whole body tenses up.

"I didn't know they were out there," she says. "Until I got out of the building and looked into the parking lot. Jacob Black is waiting at the Volvo. There is an older guy nearby. He looks like a college student or something."

"Jacob is too young to drive. That's probably Sam Uley," I say automatically. "He was in my big nightmare with Jacob and then last night . . . "

I want to continue, but I can't. I am shaking uncontrollably. Last night, the Sam wolf was the first to attack Edward. The thought that Sam may be waiting to ambush him has made me really scared. My imagination runs wild with catastrophes.

Maybe Jacob is just a decoy. At this point in time in my big nightmare, Jacob wasn't a werewolf yet. In fact he wasn't even fully grown. It was one of the reasons that I wanted to see him, to make sure that he was still a normal fifteen-year old boy.

"Edward . . . " I begin helplessly.

"What should we do?" asks Alice, who is watching Edward's face intently.

"The child just wants to talk," replies Edward, using his usual patronizing title for Jacob. "He is here with another message for me from his father, just like at prom. He doesn't know anything about it. But he is mortified to say what he has to say in front of Bella."

"Then go out by yourself," she says. "I can stay with Bella until they're gone."

"No!" I choke out clinging to Edward. "They'll hurt you. I know they will. If you go out then I will. I won't leave you. Jacob would never risk hurting me."

"I don't like this," says Edward. "And I don't want you involved."

"But I am involved," I say. "This is all my fault. I can't let them hurt is Jacob's message anyway? Can't we just wait him out?"

Edward shakes his head.

"Jacob and his driver are under orders from the council not to return until Jacob has delivered his message," he explains. "I only know what he has to say because I read it in his mind. He has no idea of my gift. And I would like to keep it that way. Besides, The other one isn't budging until Jacob talks."

"But this is about _me!" _I almost yell.

"Not really Bella," he replies calmly. "It's a much larger issue than just you. It's about the never-ending enmity between vampires and werewolves."

"I will _not _let go of you," I answer through clenched teeth as I continue to clutch his arm.

Edward looks intently at Alice and suddenly he looks just as confused as she is.

"Alice," he says. "I don't . . . "

"I know," she whispers. "That's what I am trying to tell you. But you can hear them?"

"Yes," he replies. "Or rather, I can hear Jacob very clearly. I'm still too far away to get a good fix on the other one. There are too many other mental voices I know interfering with my mental hearing. I can't pick out his voice because I haven't heard it before. I need to get closer."

"No!" I cry. "You can't. Please, just stay away. Or call Emmett or something."

"Bella, love, listen," he says patiently. "There is no danger. Whoever this Sam is, he is not going to create a scene in a parking lot full of children. And like I said, Jacob doesn't know anything. He's standing out there wondering why his father sent him to talk to me instead of you."

"So am I," says Alice. "But the only way to find out is to ask him. Bella, please stay with me."

"No!" I say firmly and continue to cling to Edward's arm.

"I can make you let go of him," says Alice tightly.

"You can but you won't," I reply. "Because I will start screaming if you try to separate me from Edward."

"Alice," says Edward.

"She will," says Alice defeated. "There is nothing for it, except to go out and see what he wants."

Edward looks at me with a combination of exasperation, pity, and love. But he knows that he cannot force me to let go. He doesn't say so, but I suspect that Jacob is under orders to stay until he delivers his message. I also have a feeling that he already knows what the message is and doesn't want me to know. And of course he has no intention in giving away the fact that he can read minds.

"Alice," I whisper. "Is Sam still in the car?"

"Yes," she says. "Why?"

"Then it's safe to go out," I answer. "He would never phase in his car. He would destroy it."

Alice and Edward look at me like I am crazy.

Alice links her arm through mine, and whispers in my ear, "Let Edward go ahead of us. It's better if we have his back."

Yet when I walk outside, I feel a huge sense of relief. Jacob still looks like the normal Jacob that I met months ago. He is taller, but still doesn't quite stand six feet tall and his long, black hair is still pulled back in a ponytail. He is looking confused as he sees us approaching the car. He even looks a little scared and glances back nervously to someone in the car. But I can't tell exactly what he looks like. I am guessing that it is Sam.

"Hey, Bells!" he says, forcing his voice to sound cheerful. "Hello, Edward. I, uh, thought I'd stop by to see you. It's been a real long time."

"Yes, it is," says Edward coolly. "Were you talking to me or Bella?"

"Um, uh, both of you," he says nervously. "Is this, uh, one of your sisters?"

"This is Alice," replies Edward politely. "Alice, this is Jacob Black. His father is Charlie's best friend."

"Hi, Jacob!" says Alice in a perky voice. "It's nice to meet you."

"And Alice is _my_ best friend," I add, almost defiantly.

"Um, yeah. Hi Alice," Jacob replies lamely.

Naturally, she doesn't offer him her ice-cold hand. But he doesn't offer her his hand either, so it's not really too weird. I notice that there are a few kids who are watching us, including Angela and Ben. I relax further. There are too many witnesses for anything violent to go down. In the meantime, Jacob is standing in front of us staring at his feet.

"Jacob," I say wearily. "I'm really tired. Unless you have something important to tell me, can you visit another time? I really just want to get home. And you're leaning against Edward's car."

"Okay," he says taking a deep breath. "Yeah. Actually I am here to tell Edward something. It's something that my Dad wanted to tell you. But, well, he, um, couldn't make it into town."

"What do you have to tell me?" asks Edward, sounding bored.

"I don't know what this is all about," he says hurriedly. "Really, I don't. So don't blame me if it doesn't make any sense. He wants to remind you and your family that Quileutes have very long memories."

"I'm sure that they do," replies Edward curtly. "Is there anything else?"

"He said to tell you that there are some things money can't buy," he continues awkwardly.

"Anything else?" Edward's voice now develops an edge.

"And if you make one wrong move, then all bets are off," he finishes limply.

"Anything else?" asks Edward with a sigh, as if he knows that this was the last of it.

"No," he says with visible relief that his errand is complete. "That's all. Nice seeing you, Bells. I don't know when I'm going to see you again. Your dad and mine are mad at each other again."

"I'm sure they'll get over it, whatever it is," I say vaguely, as if I am unaware of it. "See you around."

"Goodbye Edward. Nice to meet you, Alice," he says politely, and hurries back to the waiting car.

"Good job, Bella," whispers Alice and gives me a little squeeze.

Edward stares after him intently and continues to do so after he gets in. I still can't tell who is in the car with him. Of course Sam isn't the only young guy on the reservation who can legally drive. Paul and Jared can too. He and Jacob talk for several minutes and then drive away. When they are gone, Edward turns to us grimly.

"Let's go home," he says unhappily. "I want to talk to Carlisle about this right away. Bella, why don't you call Charlie and let him know that Alice and I are taking you to our place so that Carlisle can look at you? It's a good idea in any case. No offense, love, but you're looking pretty green."

"Tell him that you will be home by dinner," adds Alice. "Or he will worry and try to come over. He's not ready to see the house yet. Remember that he thinks that Jasper is at Dartmouth."

"What about Emmett and Rosalie?" I ask. "Aren't they supposed to be at Dartmouth too?"

"They left a couple of days ago," she says. "Rosalie was kind of getting on everyone's nerves."

Then she pulls out her cell phone and begins to speak so rapidly that I can't understand a word she is saying. Edward looks up and into the rearview mirror and nods. Then I make my call.

Charlie is glad that Edward is insisting that I see his father. I can hear him mentally chalking it up as another point in his favor. Edward doesn't say anything about what he heard from Jacob. He is gripping the steering wheel with both of his hands so tightly, I am afraid that he will break it.

Once we are outside of town, he presses the accelerator so that we hit 120 mph in what feels like two seconds. Before I know it, we are parking in front of the Cullens' large white house in the woods. Carlisle and Jasper are standing outside on the porch waiting for us.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" asks Carlisle the minute that he sees me. "You look pretty exhausted."

"I'm worn out," I admit. "And after that weird little confrontation in the parking lot, I feel like whatever energy that I had before has been totally drained out of me."

"Why don't we all go inside and sit?" he suggests. "Esme is making you some tea. Hopefully that will help revive you."

I doubt it, but I follow him in. Esme is waiting right inside the door to hug me and then scurries off to get the tea. After I am sitting, Carlisle does a quick physical exam including blood pressure and pulse. When he is done, I sink back and rest my head on Edward's shoulder.

"Your pulse is slow and your blood pressure is low," Carlisle says. "I suspect that your blood sugar is too. Esme should bring some fruit with the tea. What did you have for lunch?"

"A bottle of lemonade," says Alice.

"And some cheese and crackers," Carlisle adds. "Bella when you are under a lot of stress you have to eat properly. Other than the lemonade, what have you had today?"

"A bowl of Cheerios and a large cup of coffee," I mumble.

"This is not good," says Carlisle shaking his head.

Esme comes in with my tea and the food that Carlisle mentioned. Naturally with her superior vampire hearing, he didn't even have to raise his voice. She puts the tray down in front of me and pats my head.

"There, there, dear," she says. "Be a good girl and do what Carlisle tells you."

For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, I am unbothered by the fact that an adult is talking to me as if I were a child instead of a newly minted, eighteen-year old woman.

At the moment, I feel like a child. I feel scared that the most important person in my world could be harmed or injured. But I also feel myself losing my grip on what is real and what is a nightmare. I take a sip of my tea and Carlisle begins to question Edward.

"So Billy used Jacob to deliver an oblique message to us reminding us of the treaty," he says. "What was Jacob thinking?"

"Jacob had two distinct lines of thought going on," replies Edward. "The first one was that he was embarrassed that Billy was making him act as his errand boy in front of Bella. And he has no idea of what the message meant. But he is also annoyed that Billy and Charlie aren't speaking again. He wants to hang out with Bella. He has quite a crush on you."

"He's only fifteen," I groan. "I should have known better than to flirt with him to try to get information out of him last winter. I was afraid of this. I don't want to hurt his feelings, but, well . . . "

"You're already spoken for," says Edward more than a little possessively. "He was looking at the necklace and feeling pretty bad. He knows that he can't give you anything like that. He knows that it was a gift from me, because Billy asked him to check if you were wearing it."

"I don't want him to give me anything this valuable," I reply. "He's just a kid, and it's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything."

"Yes, he is just a kid and no, you are not his girlfriend," says Edward. "But his father and Sam are using his feelings for you to manipulate him into being their carrier pigeon. They know that he is nonthreatening to you and us.

"By the way, that _was_ Sam in the car. And I learned everything that we need to know from his mind. I'm glad that they have no idea of my mind reading ability. While we were talking, he was stewing over the whole situation."

"Was I right about the wolves?" asks Carlisle.

"Yes, you were," answers Edward. "There are once again three wolves at La Push. The Alpha wolf is Sam, and there are two others named Paul and Jared."

"The next one to phase will be Embry," I say. "In about three months. Then Jacob will phase a month later."

They all stare at me.

"That's what happened in my nightmare," I say. "Or maybe this is my nightmare and that was my reality. But last night's nightmare must be something else. Or maybe, I just going crazy."

"You're not crazy," says Carlisle. "But your subconscious seems to be going into overdrive while you sleep. You must have so much information about the Quileutes and the Cullens in your mind that you are not even aware of, that your brain is finally beginning to put the stray pieces together and solidifying the information into knowledge, which is then expressed through your nightmares."

"That makes sense," says Edward. "I see that happen with humans when they think all the time in school. Only they are doing it while they are sitting in class. It's called learning."

"But how did I know enough to get Sam, Paul, and Jared right about being wolves?" I ask.

"You knew all of them before you dreamed that they were wolves, right?" asks Carlisle.

"Yeah," I say. "I met Sam the first time I went to La Push and said that you guys didn't go there. All those guys came down to the beach that afternoon to hang out with us. Sam introduced them. Whenever I saw him after that, Paul and Jared were always with him."

"And they were older," adds Carlisle. "Not boys anymore."

"And the boy, Embry?" asks Edward.

"I've never even talked _to _him," I answer. "But he and Quil are Jacob's two best friends. He has talked _about_ them quite a bit."

"Were they all wolves?" asks Carlisle seriously.

"Everyone except Quil," I say. "But Jacob told me that he would be next."

"So six boys," says Carlisle. "But you knew those boys already. You knew the tribal legend about the wolves. And you knew that the wolves' existence was predicated on the need to protect the tribe against vampires, or so they believed maybe. Jacob was telling you the stories, but didn't believe them himself."

"I thought that you said the wolves died out?" asks Esme puzzled. "When Emmett asked about them before we moved here, you said that you had checked the records and all three men had passed away years ago."

"They did," he says. "I wonder if there really is a cause and effect relationship between our presence and the return of the wolves."

"In my nightmare there was," I say.

"In Sam's mind there is," adds Edward. "Of course his calculus is very simple. If there are vampires nearby, then the wolves reappear among the tribe members. There were no vampires in the area in the time between our two visits. In that intervening time the wolves skipped a generation."

"Had there always been wolves before?" asks Jasper.

"Yes," replied Edward. "But the wolves were not originally created specifically to kill vampires. They protected the tribe against other dangers as well. It seems that by the late-nineteenth, early-twentieth centuries, they were finished fighting with either other Native Americans or whites for their territory. Well, not completely in the case of the whites, but right now the battles are all legal.

"Carlisle and Esme know that about twenty years before we arrived another coven had come into the area and the wolves had destroyed them. They were the same three wolves that we met in the woods. I could see that they were afraid because they were outnumbered. So Carlisle negotiated the treaty to allay their fears."

"Well, there was a certain benefit for us as well," says Esme. "Edward could see that the wolves understood that the only way to destroy a vampire was to tear him apart and burn the pieces."

"The way we killed James," nods Jasper. "How did they figure it out?"

"Years of experience battling vampires, but never more than two at a time, the normal size of a coven, that's why they had three, for the size advantage," replies Edward. "The knowledge has been passed down from one generation to the next as part of the tribal legends. All the Quileutes know them, but most of them don't believe them. That was how Jacob broke the treaty. He told Bella the story of the cold ones not realizing that it was true."

"Who knows that the legends are true?" asks Alice.

"The Council of Elders, which today includes Billy who is the son of the last hereditary chief," he says. "And the wolves obviously. That's one if the ways that I found out that Sam was a wolf. He was thinking about it. He is pretty darn pissed that he's a wolf too. But I couldn't tell why."

"That's odd," says Carlisle. "The last time that we were here, I was under the impression that the wolves very proud of their role in guarding the tribe, not to mention their heritage."

"This is a very different generation," replies Edward. "They have different values. I can pretty much guess that turning into a wolf when the need arises isn't at the top of their wish lists. And it places a tremendous limit on their futures. It essentially ties them to the reservation for life. And it's not a decision. It's a birthright."

"I suppose that might be true," says Carlisle. "I just feel like it doesn't fit with the nature of the wolves we met before."

"In my dream," I add. "Sam and the pack were very proud of who they were."

"That is probably another thing that your nightmare got wrong," says Carlisle. "If you can recall, it didn't get everything right. Your imagination used the information that it had. This is something that you couldn't know, having never talked with Sam about how he liked being a wolf."

"Of even knowing that he is wolf," says Esme. "I would have made the same assumption. I wonder why it's different."

"We live in a scientific age where people don't believe in magic anymore," explains Edward. "The werewolves, like us, belong to the world of the supernatural. They originally guarded the tribe against other Native American predators, or the larger tribes. That's how they survived. They took the magic of the Quileutes for granted and never questioned it.

"Then there were various run-ins with a few covens of European origin. No doubt they came here for the same reason that we did, lack of sunlight. But in an area with so few people, anyone who went missing would be noticed. Sooner or later the Quileutes were bound to run into them. When they did, their magic evolved so that they could defend themselves."

"Other than the way that you look," I ask. "How would the wolves know that you are vampires?"

"The scent," replies Edward. "They can smell a vampire from several yards out. And we can smell them. That was how I knew that Sam was a wolf before I heard him thinking about it. I could smell him from across the lot."

"Was that what that odor was?" asks Alice. "It was just vile, worse than a dog's."

"I didn't smell anything," I reply.

"Your human nose wouldn't register it," says Edward. "And although I know that you can pick up our scents a little, you probably don't realize how different they are, or how strong. The wolves can differentiate too. Sam was memorizing my scent and Alice's for future reference. Whoever instructed him in his guard duties did it well."

"When I was living with my former coven in the southwest," says Jasper. "The Native Americans passed along their histories and legends through an oral tradition. Those stories can be very detailed. The tribal elders who pass them down have excellent memories."

"That's the way that it usually is in pre-literate cultures," nods Edward. "It will be interesting to see what becomes of these legends when they are in the hands of a generation who not only reads and writes, but also relies heavily on video and audio recording. Why memorize something when it is easily accessible on a computer?"

"Well, the anthropological future of the Quileutes may be an interesting thing to speculate," says Carlisle. "But we have more important concerns right now. It seems that the Quileutes are trying to push the envelope as far they can without breaking the treaty. It appears that they are trying to use Charlie and Bella as the wedge with us."

"So far it's not working," I say. "I am always going to love Edward. And Charlie likes Edward more than ever."

"Yes, he does," says Carlisle. "May I, Edward?"

"Yes, she should know," replies Edward.

"What should I know?" I ask.

"Charlie called me earlier today," answers Carlisle. "If it had been simply a matter of friendly concern, it would have been one thing. But Charlie was in full police mode. For one thing, he wanted to know if there had actually been any threats on Edward's life. Then he suggested that if I knew of someone who was a danger to him, that I should take out a restraining order."

"Like you can take out a restraining order on my delusional pack of mythological werewolves," I say, feeling the edge return to my voice. "Charlie would think that we are all nuts. But maybe the restraining order would only have to be in effect when there is a full moon."

"Not exactly," says Edward. "The Quileutes may turn into wolves, but they are not traditional werewolves."

"You mean that they aren't Children of the Moon?" asks Jasper. "That makes sense."

"What makes sense?" asks Alice. "A werewolf is a werewolf, right?"

"The European werewolves that I knew of and Jasper heard of in his early days before he met us," explains Carlisle. "Are nothing like the Quileutes. The Children of the Moon, like vampires, are created by the bite of a werewolf. They only transform into wolves when the moon is full. They have no control over it. Nor do they have much control of themselves when they are in that state. And they do not form packs.

"The Quileutes become wolves through heredity. I had assumed when there were no wolves in Billy's generation that they had reached the end of the line. Obviously, I was wrong. Edward can speak better to the way that their minds work when they are in that state."

"It was one of the most fascinating things about them when I met them," adds Edward. "The three wolves, while in their wolf state, shared a consciousness. The other two wolves did not agree with Ephraim's decision to make a treaty, but there was no way for them to change his mind. On the other hand, _his _Alpha order had to be obeyed. He forced them to agree with him."

"How did you make a treaty with wolves?" I ask.

"We made the treaty with Ephraim in his human form," answers Carlisle. "It is rather odd how they still smelled like wolves in their human state. But they did not share a consciousness, or pack mind, while human. They stood apart from their tribesmen because if they suddenly had to phase, they didn't want to hurt anyone. It's a violent process."

"During the moments that the wolf is phasing, he literally has no control whatsoever over his mind," says Edward. "The transitional stage is very dangerous for any human who gets too close. As wolves, they have more control over their emotions than werewolves, but the animal part of them governs them with their instincts to protect, attack, and kill if necessary.

"A great danger in being around a young wolf like Sam is that if he loses his temper he will not be able to control his urge to phase. The whole time that he was sitting in the car waiting, he was very focused on remaining calm. It was difficult since he hates us so much."

"So they don't have the capacity to make decisions about everything that they do," says Alice slowly. "And their tempers can cause them to phase without any intention on their part. Yes, they are extremely dangerous."

She is silent for a moment and then looks at Edward.

"You may be right," says Edward, nodding to her. "Alice is wondering if she couldn't see Jacob and Sam coming to school to see us until they arrived because Sam is a wolf. He is too unpredictable for her to see clearly. And Jacob was acting on his instructions. While he was there, Sam was calling all the shots."

"To see clearly? You mean to see at all," grumbles Alice. "It means that if they decide to act, I won't be able to see it. It weakens us."

"What do you mean it weakens you?" I ask.

"Alice is referring to our ability to negotiate our relationship with the human world," Edward explains. "The two most valuable weapons that we have now are her foresight and my mind reading ability. These are the things that tell us maintain the secrecy of our true nature. At least we still have my mind reading to rely on."

"We have Charlie to help us also," says Carlisle. "You may be annoyed by the fact that he is going to be keeping a closer eye on you, Edward, but he may be able to warn us if something isn't right."

"He doesn't see the cause and effect that you are assuming," replies Edward shaking his head. "He knows that Billy doesn't like me, but he would never view him as a threat to me. There are secrets on both sides of this equation. And that is what puts Bella in the most danger. I'm glad that you have Charlie guarding you too."

"What does that mean?" I ask nervously.

"You are caught in the middle between two supernatural species," answers Carlisle. "You have no choice other than to pick a side. If you try to mediate between us it will never work."

"Obviously if I have to pick a side, I'm with you," says Bella. "But isn't this about me? You make me sound like some kind of an accidental victim. You know, like collateral damage or something."

"Not if we can help it," answers Carlisle. "You have the potential to become a pawn in this lethal game of chess, and Billy is pushing things very hard right now. He knows that we can disappear and start somewhere else anytime we want. In fact, it would be no trouble for us to pack up and be gone tomorrow. But we won't. Under those circumstances we would have to leave you behind."

"No!" I say hoarsely. "Never. You can't."

"We won't," says Carlisle firmly. "But we also can't disappear and leave Charlie wondering what happened to you. If he believes that you are alive, he will leave no stone unturned to find you. If the FBI was looking for us, it would create a lot if publicity. For a number of reasons, we need to keep a low profile.

"We have to make sure that humans do not discover the truth. That could be dangerous for us all. Billy knows this too. He is laying the ground work now for his reaction to your disappearance and will egg Charlie on if he has to. But he doesn't think that he will."

"Why is that?" I ask.

"We believe that Billy and the other Quileutes are underestimating Edward's feelings for you and the family's willingness to support him," replies Carlisle. "It is a pity that we can't engineer some kind of situation where Billy would be thinking about all of this while Edward was listening. The present rift with Charlie is inconvenient, but it makes it a lot easier for you and Edward to be together now."

"I don't like fighting with Charlie," I admit. "And I hate to hurt him in any way. I am hoping that we can come up some good plan for him to accept my absence when I leave after graduation."

"That issue is too far off for us to worry about," says Carlisle. "Right now we need to work at keeping you and Charlie out of the middle of this feud. Does anyone have any ideas?"

But as we all look around at each other my heart sinks. As of now, no one has a plan, or even an idea for a plan. I can see Edward looking at Jasper with great interest. I know almost nothing about him, but something he is thinking has caught Edward's attention. Maybe there is a chance to resolve this without anyone getting hurt.


	9. Edward to the Rescue

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 9: Edward to the Rescue**

As usual, the Cullens are going out of their way to take care of me. They are truly my family. The perfection of their unconditional love for me and willingness to stand behind Edward and me as we search for ways to be together forever, should ease my fears.

But my mind is still caught in the nightmare trap, a sort of half-life between wakefulness and sleep. I know that Jasper can feel my anxiety because the waves of calm continuously wash over me. He looks at me with concern as he furrows his brow with concentration. He may be physically uncomfortable in my presence, but he can still touch my emotions.

Once we have talked out the present state of affairs with the Cullen-Quileute situation, and Esme has insisted that I eat some chicken soup in addition to the bread, fruit, and cheese Edward drives Alice and me back to Forks. Luckily, we arrive home before Charlie. If we weren't there before him, he would worry that something terrible was wrong with me.

The first thing that I do is go into the kitchen and start dinner. I really am feeling better for having eaten the food and been exposed to Jasper's calming influence. Luckily, the snack was nothing too substantial, so I won't worry Charlie by not eating. Even he has noticed that I am eating less these days, and that is saying a lot.

While things are cooking, I begin my homework. Edward and Alice "help" me so that I can get it done faster. I will definitely be going upstairs early tonight so that I can get to bed and hopefully fall asleep. In addition to still feeling genuinely exhausted, I am looking forward to my time alone with Edward. Suddenly, we hear the front door open and Charlie's voice calls out.

"Hey, kids!" he says cheerfully, as he hangs up his gun belt. "How was your day?"

Edward, who had been leaning over me to explain a calculus problem, immediately bolts up in his seat.

"What is it?" whispers Alice.

"Shh!" replies Edward. "He's about to tell us."

"How are you doing, Bells?" he asks, as he closely examines me. "You look a little better than you did this morning. There's a little more color in your cheeks anyway. Has Dr. Cullen been taking care of you?"

"And Esme," I answer. "She insisted on feeding me."

"You know, Edward," says Charlie in an almost conspiratorial tone. "She's always making a fuss about how I eat. But then, she hardly eats anything herself."

"Well, Carlisle insisted that she have some fruit and cheese," replies Edward. "And no one can say no to Esme when she decides to take care of you, especially when she brings out her chicken soup."

"Another great cook, huh?" he says. "How are you, Alice? You look good as usual."

"Thanks, Charlie," she answers cheerfully. "I'm doing well. Edward and I are helping Bella with her homework so she can get to bed early tonight."

"Math?" says Charlie, peeking over my shoulder. "That was never your strong suit, was it, Bells?"

"Wow," I grumble. "Finally one of you is talking _to _me rather than _about _me."

"Oh c'mon, Bella," says Alice. "You know that it's because we love you. Aren't you happy to have family that wants to take care of you?"

"Yeah, Bells," says Charlie. "You always want to take care of everyone else. Why don't you ease up on yourself and let us take care of you for awhile?"

"I'm sorry," I sigh wearily. "I know that I'm really cranky, but I'm still overtired. All I really want to do is go to bed."

"Well, now that your Dad is home why don't you put those pork chops in the oven?" says Edward, leaving out the word "nasty" that he was using to describe them while I was prepping them. "The sooner you eat, the sooner you can go to bed. You're almost done with these problems."

"Okay," I reply, and get up from the table.

I have already preheated the oven and open the door to put in the chops. But even a simple task like that is dangerous for me in the slightly overcrowded kitchen. Instead of pulling out the rack to put the tray on it, I try to slide the tray in with one hand. I hit my hand on the top coil and let out a piercing scream.

Within less than a second, Edward had grabbed my arm, pulled my hand away and put it under the cold water of the kitchen tap. Alice closes the oven door. The burning pain is radiating all the way up my arm, and I realize that I am crying. Alice rubs my back to sooth me and suddenly we realize that Charlie is staring at Edward.

"I have never seen anyone move so quickly in my whole life," he says in amazement.

Alice and I look at each other fearfully, but Edward whispers, "It's okay."

"I mean," Charlie continues. "I've heard about these adrenalin rush things where people get these superhuman powers. You know, extra strength to lift a car or something, running extra fast to save a child from an oncoming truck. But I never thought that I would see it for myself."

Edward looks at him in confusion, as if he hadn't just heard his thoughts before he spoke them.

"I wasn't even thinking," he says puzzled. "I just saw her hand slip up and knew that I had to get it out before she like, went on fire or something."

I have to admit that the last touch is clever. He really does sound like a kind of "dumbish" teenager rather than a confident vampire who is always on the alert for my clumsiness. And I am sure that the second I decided not to pull out the rack, he saw the accident happening in Alice's mind.

"Here, let me see that," says Charlie as he pulls my hand out from under the water. "That's a nasty burn, Bells. Edward, does your father make house calls?"

I look at the enormous blister and my stomach nearly heaves. As I moan, Charlie puts his arm around me and bends over to comfort me.

"I'm sure that he will come if we ask him," says Alice pulling out her cell phone.

She and Edward look at one another behind Charlie's head, and he nods. She must have just seen Carlisle walking in the house.

"Hi, Carlisle, yeah, it's Alice," she says. "Bella just burned her hand in the oven. Charlie was wondering if you would come over and look at it."

I can barely hear his answer, but Alice ends the call immediately.

"He'll be over right away," she says. "He told me that we should elevate it, keep it clean, and keep it cool with ice water."

"You need to keep an eye on the pork chops so that they don't burn," I whimper through my tears.

"Leave it to you to worry more about dinner than yourself," says Charlie. "Bella, when are you ever going to develop some concern for your own safety?"

Edward coughs a little and I roll my eyes at him. He's never going to let me hear the end of this. And now he has Charlie as an ally.

"Alice," I say weakly. "I was planning on having pasta and Alfredo sauce with the chops. Could you boil some water? The cheese sauce is in the fridge."

"Sure," she says. "Any veggies?"

"That's not necessary," says Charlie quickly. "We don't want to put you to any trouble."

"It's no trouble," says Alice innocently. "Carlisle just gave Bella a lecture on eating properly. I want to make sure that he sees her getting a nutritionally balanced meal."

"We have some corn on the cob in the fridge," suggests Charlie hopefully.

"Corn is a grain not a vegetable," says Alice as she forages through the freezer. "Oh look, here's some spinach. Ugh! What are these things?"

"Pizza rolls," says Charlie. "See? It says so right here on the box."

"They look awful," Alice, who thinks that all human food is awful, says emphatically. "Bella, you really need to buy fresh vegetables rather than this frozen stuff when you shop. They hold more nutrients."

"We don't eat vegetables quickly enough," I reply. "Fresh vegetables rot if they sit around too long."

"Not if you eat them everyday," she replies tartly.

"Better not mention that to Carlisle or you'll get another lecture," says Edward. "Charlie, where do you keep the Tylenol? I think a couple of pills might help Bella with the pain."

"Up the stairs and in the bathroom," he says. "I think that they are in the medicine cabinet."

When Edward returns, I am back sitting at the table. Edward insists on writing out my math answers so I can finish my homework. Naturally I burned my right hand. Alice continues cooking dinner, chattering away about nothing the whole time. Charlie, once he figures out that I am going to be okay until Carlisle comes, goes to the living room to watch the nightly news, no doubt in an effort to escape all this talk about healthy food.

"It's a good thing it wasn't blood," says Alice about the accident.

"Why?" I ask. "You two have been around me when I have been covered in blood."

"Never mind," she sighs as Edward glares at her.

I am in too much pain, the Tylenol not withstanding, to care about what she saw. Edward has just put away my books when we hear a knock at the front door.

"That's Carlisle," says Alice. "Do you want me to get it?"

"No, let Charlie get it," replies Edward.

"Dr. Cullen," says Charlie after we hear him open the door. "I didn't realize that doctors still made house calls."

"Call me Carlisle," he says. "Where is my patient?"

"In the kitchen!" calls Alice.

"Well, you should call me Charlie," he says as they walk. "With a kid like Bella, it's good to be on a first name basis with the best doctor in town."

"Thanks a lot," I mutter.

"Bella," scolds Carlisle. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You're going to fix her up quickly," says Alice. "I'm almost ready to put dinner on the table."

"Come into the living room so I can look at the wound and tend to it," says Carlisle.

Edward puts his arm around me to walk me in, while Charlie follows us. Carlisle sets down his black bag and then asks Edward to unwrap the damp the cloth. When I see the huge blister again, I practically faint. I lean against Edward and close my eyes as Carlisle gently takes my hand to examine it more closely. His cool hands feel wonderful on my overheated skin.

"Breathe, Bella," he says soothingly. "This must really hurt."

"Second degree burn?" asks Edward.

"Very good, son," Carlisle says approvingly. "Alice says that you got this under cool water immediately."

"As soon as I grabbed her hand away from the coil," he replies. "I got her to the sink. I didn't even think twice."

"I've never seen anyone move so fast," comments Charlie. "It has to have been one of those adrenalin rush things."

"I'm sure it was," says Carlisle, avoiding his eyes as he begins to create a kind of pillow of gauze for a bandage. "I've given all the children instruction in basic first aid. I'm glad that Edward was able to remain calm under pressure and remember the basics. It will save you a lot of pain in the long run, Bella."

"That's a good thing," I answer. "Because I'm already in a lot of pain."

"Well, right now the main thing is to keep it clean and dry," he says. "It's a good thing that Alice is here. You should put a plastic bag over it when you shower. But since it's your right hand, you may need her help to shower for a couple of days."

"No problem," says Alice cheerily as she walks in. "Dinner is served."

Once he is done bandaging my hand, Carlisle declines the invitation to eat with us so that he can return to Esme. Charlie pulls out a fourth folding chair, which makes the kitchen very crowded, but at least we can all sit. It's a good thing that Alice is tiny that she can squeeze through the smallest spaces as she flits around serving us. The whole time, she deftly avoids touching Charlie with her cold body.

Charlie and I eat while Alice and Edward pretend to. Fortunately, Charlie is so worried about me, that he doesn't notice them hiding their food. If he thought that Edward moved fast before, he had never seen him really in action. While we are eating, he talks about his day.

"Pretty busy day again," he says. "There was another lost hiker, but we found him a couple of miles from where he was supposed to be. He claimed that he was chased there by a huge bear. Craziest thing I ever heard. Then right before I left, I got a call from Mrs. Weber, your friend Angela's mom."

"Oh?" I ask, wondering what it could possibly be about.

"Yeah," he replies. "She said something about some Native American kid who looked suspicious, hanging out in the school parking lot waiting for you next to Edward's car. Said there was another one in a car who was driving him. Angela told her Mom that you looked scared or something. She said the Indian, her word not mine, was talking crazy."

"Um, uh, yeah," I say, thinking that she must have heard the biting warning. "But it wasn't a big deal. It was just Jacob."

"Jacob Black?" asks Charlie in surprise. "You don't have any reason to be scared of him. And I've never known him to talk crazy."

"I wasn't scared," I say. "I was just real tired and I wanted to go home, or rather go to Carlisle's house. Jacob was leaning on Edward's car and blocking us."

"Angela thought that you were having words," says Charlie.

"Not really," I reply. "I was just annoyed because he wouldn't leave. And he wasn't really talking crazy."

"What do you mean by _really_ wasn't talking crazy?" asks Charlie suspiciously, as we fall silent. "He's not the type of kid who's going to pester anyone."

"Jacob was sent to give Edward a message," Alice finally admits. "From his dad."

"What message?" asks Charlie, as Edward looks away, no doubt mulling over his response.

"He thinks that I should stay away from Bella," answers Edward softly. "Jacob said that his father couldn't come to town to tell me himself."

"Did he say why?" asks Charlie. "I mean, why he was telling you to stop dating Bella, that is?"

"I'm not sure," replies Edward, now looking embarrassed. "I don't think that he approves of me."

"Nobody asked him to approve of you," growls Charlie. "You and your family all take care of my daughter. You know your first aid good enough to do the right thing when she gets seriously burned. Your father even makes a house call to fix her up. Your sister cooks dinner, and helps her to shower and do the stuff she can't. And that's just in one night. I approve of you and that's all that matters."

"Thank you for your support, Charlie," says Edward with feeling. "I really care for Bella a lot. It means a lot to me that you like me."

"Well, don't worry about Billy and Jacob," he says. "They won't bother you again."

"Don't be mad at Jacob, Dad, please," I say. "He's just a kid. And he seemed very embarrassed to be delivering that message."

"Well, Jacob's a good kid," admits Charlie. "Especially when he's not breaking the law by driving under age. Of course he did _that_ because his father told him to. I don't know what's gotten into Billy these days. He never used to be like this. First his people won't use the county hospital anymore, and now he's trying to chase off your boyfriend. And he won't give any real reason either."

"It's okay, Charlie," says Edward. "We don't want to cause any trouble. But Carlisle likes working at the hospital and, well, I kind of love Bella."

"I see proof of that everyday, Edward," says Charlie smiling. "And I know that she loves you too. Edward, why don't you and I do the dishes while Alice helps Bella get ready for bed?"

"Yeah, sure," he says, looking intently at Alice.

But whatever she sees, it must be fine, because Edward begins to clear the table as Charlie runs the water in the sink. Alice leads me upstairs.

"Don't be such a worrywart," she says once we get into the bathroom. "They are fine together. In fact, it's another bonding thing for them. I hate seeing you go through all of this stuff, but it really is bringing Charlie and Edward closer."

"I just wish that they could get closer without me burning my hand and having crazy nightmares," I complain. "What's wrong with me? And don't say nothing because I know that you all think that there is."

"I don't know," she admits. "And neither does Carlisle. He knows a lot about medicine, but not a whole lot about psychology."

"Too bad," I say, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. "It's not like I can just go to a shrink and explain all my problems. He would put me in the loony bin in no time."

"You're not crazy, Bella," answers Alice quietly. "But your future, as well as Edward's, is completely in flux now. Whatever is going on in your head, it seems to be creating some interference with what seemed so simple. It's probably because you aren't always in complete control of yourself."

"Do you still see me becoming one of you?" I ask anxiously.

"Don't worry Bella," she smiles. "That is one decision that is rock solid. Now let's get you in the shower so that you can get to bed."

When we are done, Alice pulls out my old blow dryer and starts working on my hair.

"This thing is ancient," she complains. "No wonder you never dry your hair."

"Well, don't buy one for me," I warn.

"I won't," she agrees. "But you should spring for a new one with your next paycheck. They are really pretty cheap in CVS."

Alice and I have different definitions of cheap but I have to agree with her. My hair always looks better and is easier to care for when I blow it dry. After she finishes, we go downstairs where Charlie and Edward are watching the playoffs like two normal friends. It makes me happy to see them like this and hopeful that it isn't a dream.

"She's all set," says Alice. "We need to get home, Edward. Why don't you say your goodbyes and we will be on our way?"

Edward and Charlie stand up. Edward slips on his driving gloves and shakes hands. Then Edward kisses my cheek and Alice gives me a hug.

"I'll pick you up for school tomorrow," says Edward. "I don't want you to even try driving with that hand."

"Don't worry, son," says Charlie. "I won't let her."

Edward gives him a bright smile at the word "son" and nods goodbye again. After they leave, Charlie and I are left standing in the living room.

"I'm going to go up to bed," I say.

"I'll come with you and tuck you in," says Charlie, and follows me up stairs.

He pulls back the covers and helps me settle in. Then he kisses my forehead and turns off the light.

"Have a good night, Bells," he says. "These sure are nice sheets that Esme got you. I've never seen anything like them. Try to sleep peacefully."

"I will," I promise even though I have my doubts.

As soon as he is downstairs, Edward slips in the window and lays down on the bed beside me. He gently picks up my hand and tenderly holds it.

"The cold feels good," I say as I turn toward him.

"I know," he says. "If you need more Tylenol in the night, don't hesitate to ask. That is one nasty burn."

"Well, at least you knew what I do," I say. "And Charlie immediately thought of the adrenalin rush thing."

"Charlie likes simple explanations to difficult questions," he answers. "In the split second that I got to you and put your hand under the water, he was scared to death. And it wasn't because of the burn. But then he thought of the adrenalin rush and was all over it. He liked it because he saw it as another mark in my favor. And well, he sees the value in having me around to keep you safe."

"Because I'm the world's biggest klutz," I say sarcastically.

"Bella, this is a huge step forward," he says seriously. "A month ago he considered me a threat to your safety. Now I'm suddenly your guardian angel."

"You're not exactly an angel," I say, seeing the humor in it.

"Well, I did at one time consider myself your guardian vampire," he replies. "That was back when I was all but stalking you to keep you safe."

"From myself most of the time," I mutter.

"Bella, it's time for you to try and sleep," he says. "Maybe if you are well-rested, you will get your real sense of humor back. This constant sarcasm, mostly at your own expense, is getting old. And it isn't doing anything to improve your mental state."

"You won't leave me for a minute, will you?" I ask suddenly feeling worried. "If I have another nightmare you have to promise that you will be here when I wake up."

"The best I can promise is that if Charlie comes in here, I will hide in the closet again," he replies seriously. "He can't find me here with you. Do you understand that? It would completely shatter the fragile trust that he is beginning to have in me."

"Yes, I know," I answer. "But as long as I know that you are still somewhere in the room I will be all right."

"Of course you will," he says as he smoothes back my hair. "Do you want me to turn on your CD?"

"No, I like it better when you sing," I say sleepily. "I like knowing that you are really here."

I curl up into his shoulder and rest my right hand on his cool chest. He wraps his arms around me, careful to keep the comforter between us, and his hands away from mine. Every movement is gentle and tender. Then he begins to softly sing my lullaby. My mind slowly drifts into a dreamless sleep. My Edward is with me. What do I have to fear?

_Author's Note: The next chapter will switch to Edward's POV._


	10. There She Sleeps

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 10: There She Sleeps**

There she sleeps, finally at peace. Every now and then, she softly whispers my name.

"Edward," she sighs. "Edward. My Edward. Stay with me always."

Those wistfully spoken words are the sweetest sound that I have ever heard. I hold her tenderly, but firmly in my arms. I am struggling right now to hold onto my Bella, my poor darling Bella, the love and the light of my existence. I am on constant alert for the restlessness that signals that another nightmare is coming on.

She never sleeps without them anymore. Even when she doesn't wake up crying or screaming, her sleep is constantly disrupted. Since she appears to be unaware of them, I have chosen not to tell her of the muttering in her sleep about wolves that don't exist (yet) and vampires whose names she shouldn't know. And then there is the ever-present fear that she will wake up and I will be gone.

"Edward, no! Edward, I love you. Don't leave me!" she mutters, the anxiety creeping into her voice.

It all started on the eve of her eighteenth birthday. That was the night that she woke up positive that almost a full seven months had passed. During that time I had disappeared from her life in order to save her from my world. She imagined that she got a paper cut opening a birthday present at my house and Jasper flew at her in a feeding frenzy. Then we disappeared . . . with the promise never to return.

But if I had the capacity to do that, I would have left her months ago, back in February when I realized how dangerously close she was coming to my world. But I belong to her now. She will not, she _cannot,_ lose me. But she does not understand this. She is living a haunted life, a life haunted by dark events that never happened.

It has become so bad that she seems unable to distinguish reality from her nightmares. Her mind continues to try to convince her that our happiness together in the here and now is not real. She is waiting to "wake up" from her "perfect dream" and return to the pain of her imagined misery.

"Edward? Where are you, Edward?" she asks, her voice on edge.

"Don't worry, darling," I murmur. "I'm here."

"Here," she whispers, and drifts back to sleep.

I saw her look of relief today in Jacob's eyes as we approached the car. I knew that she was dreading that he was the enormous youth of her nightly terrors who would change into an enormous wolf at will. This was one if the many things that she was muttering in her sleep. She was afraid that he was in danger as he went off to fight vampires.

But as he stood there, uncomfortably shifting his weight between his outsized feet, she relaxed. Jacob still looked like the child that we had run into only two months ago down in Hoquiam before school started. His jeans and shirt looked a little unkempt, but his long dark hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail.

That was another thing that has been bothering her. After he phased he cut his hair short. She would murmur about how it was wrong, like so many other things that were now wrong about him. But the Jacob leaning against my car was not that Jacob. This Jacob's eyes were filled with a kind of worship for a girl he only imagined he knew.

He was blind to the flaws in her appearance that mark her inner turmoil and disrupted sleep. He didn't notice her gaunt face or eyes dark-circled from lack of proper rest. She was carelessly dressed and relatively ungroomed. Her dark hair was beautiful, but untidy. In fact, Alice was mortified that she was looking like this out in public. This morning, Bella stubbornly refused to allow her to make any improvements.

But I can't fault Jacob for his vision. She is the object of his youthful infatuation. He has had a crush on her for years, as soon as he was old enough to notice that she was a real girl and not just Charlie Swan's bratty daughter who complained and whined the entire time she was forced to visit Forks each summer.

His original perception of her was laden with the negative impressions of his twin sisters. In his mind I can see them, as they were back then, two exquisitely beautiful Native American child-women with thick, glossy black hair and velvety, dark brown skin. They were tall and strong looking with a deep pride in their heritage.

They referred to Bella as the annoying little, white mouse and pissed off Charlie by rejoicing when he came over to sadly announce that his daughter refused to visit Forks any more. Like Charlie, Jacob, at the time a scrawny, little eleven-year old was terribly disappointed. Despite his youth, he saw in Bella the fragile beauty that most people in their human blindness, missed.

Bella was his ideal, his perfect girl. And as the years passed, she had only grown more perfect in his mind. Not knowing her (or even seeing her for that matter) helped sustain the illusion. He was able to craft his ideal without first-hand knowledge of the real girl. She was everything that the girls who lived on the reservation were not, a soul mate.

"Edward, not Jacob. Edward," Bella says again, with almost a note of hysteria entering her voice. "Where are you, Edward?"

"I'm right here," I whisper and she calms down immediately.

Odd. I wonder what she meant when she said "not Jacob."

In those rare times that I was in his presence, his mind would scroll through his various fantasies about her. They were pure, innocent fantasies. He saw them walking on the beach and holding hands. He replayed the conversations that he had dreamed he had with her.

His Bella was one who listened avidly to his words and fully appreciated his talents and his ideas. She enjoyed his stories about his friends and his school. She was interested in the many things that he told her about cars and how to fix and build them. She sometimes spoke of her own life, but only in relation to his. He imagined that she had always shared his feelings and was as bereft as he was when she longer spent her summers in Forks.

He counts the afternoon she spent with him on First Beach in La Push, as the most significant event of his life. Her attempts to flirt with him were feeble at best, but he eagerly recalled every smile, every flutter of eyelashes. She dazzled him with her interest in his stories of his forebears. I can see the light in her eyes when she realized what we were. Jacob mistook the gesture as the moment of her own realization of her feelings for her.

He saw her very rarely even then. He and his father could not come to town much after the first time Charlie lectured him for driving in without a license. He lived a life of unrequited love for a few months until the dreadful events in Phoenix. His father nearly went nuts at that time, positive that they would never see Bella again.

Jacob had no understanding of why, but this also became his unexpressed fear. He rejoiced when she returned to Forks. He convinced himself that she was returning to him. And the night of prom, he felt utterly humiliated when he had to cut in to deliver the message to Bella from his father.

It was sheer misery for him to stand and watch as she clung to me, unsteady wearing her walking cast on one foot, high heeled shoe on the other. She looked spectacular that night. Her eyes were only for me. It pleased me that she was reluctant when I let go of her so easily.

It really wasn't easy, but I felt sorry for the poor boy. He could not fail to see the love in her eyes when she gazed at me, and her discomfort when he took her unsteadily in his arms. My greatest fear was that he might injure her with his own clumsiness.

We saw him on occasion throughout the summer, always in groups of other kids. Bella would go nowhere without me. On those few days and nights that I went hunting, she insisted that either Alice stay with her or she stay at our place. She even allowed Alice to entertain herself by playing "Guinea Pig Barbie" with her. She never mentioned Jacob, or Billy for that matter. So while they were apart, Jacob dreamed that she would grow tired of me and eventually seek him out.

"Edward," she whispers. "Must see Edward. Motorcycles. Adrenalin. Jacob fix."

This time she doesn't seem to be looking for me to affirm my presence, instead she is talking about her own hair-brained idea to hear my voice by doing dangerous things. She is not only unstable in reality. In her alternative reality she was also crazy, or rather mentally unsound. Somehow the clinical language sounds worse than the slang. Maybe I'm crazy too.

Unlike the fantasies of the boys at Forks High School, he didn't imagine her giving him anything more than chaste kisses. He never considered the wonders of undressing her and making love to her. Even I have had those thoughts, but only in the context of a wedding night. Vampire or human, I will never touch her that way until she is my wife.

For Jacob's own sake, I hope that he moves beyond this boyhood crush before he is too hurt by the fact that she loves me. He must surely know from his father that she has chosen me. But I couldn't see it in his mind today. He was too focused on the words he must repeat to me exactly, or he would be in trouble with more people than just his father. He was under pressure from the entire council.

He doesn't understand what she sees in me. But it isn't because he hates me or sees me as unworthy. He knows that I am a more than worthy rival for her affections. He looks at me and sees an older boy (he refuses to admit that I am a man). I can drive her around in my car, while he gets hollered at by Charlie for breaking the law. I can afford to give her a diamond necklace to commemorate an important milestone in her life.

He understands the significance of turning eighteen. He had been dreading the date almost as much as she had. But while she was upset because she would be a year older than me, he was upset because for a few months, it could be said that she was three years older than him. He was a child still too young to drive, while she was a legal adult. She could move out of her father's house if she wanted. He had to do everything his father said.

"No, Edward," she whimpers. "You promised. You lied. Can never be like you never existed."

"Hush, darling," I whisper. "I exist and I am here. I promise."

"Promise," she mutters uncertainly. "Promise."

Secure in her love, I can afford to be generous with this callow, albeit misguided, youth. Until he gives up the idea of having my girl, he is doomed to live in a pathetic state of unrequited love. And because I know that he has no prayer of ever winning her, I can feel genuinely sorry for him.

But he is young. And if he allows himself, he will get over it. With any luck, he will find a girl who is worthy of his sterling character. He deserves that much for being the upstanding, kindhearted young boy that he is. There must be a girl out there who will return his affection in kind, who will worship him as he will surely worship her. Yes, secure in my own love, I can only wish the best for him.

It is the arrogance that my gift gives me that makes me think that I can judge others and their worthiness of one another. When I wanted to do a small favor for Angela last year, I only acted after I was fairly sure that Ben Cheney was worthy of such a high quality young lady.

When I heard Mike Newton comparing girls in his mind, it made me vaguely sick to think of any girl in his arms, even Jessica Stanley. And no boy should ever get stuck with that wretched bitch, Lauren Mallory.

But am I really worthy of my beautiful Bella? How many sins have _I _committed in my existence prior to meeting her? The worst of them are the murders, those dreadful years when I lived for the hunt, the blood, and the illusion of absolution. How many men did I kill in the belief that my vigilante justice would be forgiven by a merciful God. But if He does exist, it is not to absolve the heinous crimes of a creature of the night like me.

"Edward, you lied," mumbles Bella again. "I heard you, your voice, perfect. Not memory voice. You existed."

"And I still exist," I whisper. "Always, and only for you."

"Me for you, love you," she responds dreamily. "Love you, always. Forever."

"As I do you," I reply. "As I do you."

Yet amid her declarations of love, the hatred of the Quileutes' thoughts rings in my mind. I hear the insults of the Quiletues in my mind every time I think of them or accidentally run into one of them. "Leech!" "Parasite!" "Tick!" "Bloodsucker!" And worse when they run out of vampire insults.

We disgust them by our very existence. We are aberrations that go against nature, against goodness as humans define it. And deep in my frozen heart, I know that their epithets are true, at least about me.

I was not motivated to rid the dark alleys and byways of monsters by some intrinsic goodness to achieve a form of extrinsic justice. I was motivated by the unquenchable thirst of all vampires for human blood. We are worse than the alcoholics or drug addicts that I once compared us to. Crack, heroin, booze, none of those things are alive. They are addictions to be overcome, not necessities for self-survival.

I feel no guilt about the thousands of animals that I have slaughtered. I wonder how many animals the humans slaughter each year to satisfy their craving for meat? They breed them and herd them into an existence of pure misery. But because they lack the nobility of the stag, the elegance of the mountain lion, and the cuddly appearance of the bear, no one mourns their passing in the name of Happy Meals or chicken nuggets, those vile staples of the modern human diet.

Until my beautiful Bella, with her innate goodness, innocence, and purity stumbled into my life, I was filled with loathing and self-hatred. Surely, such a fragile creature could not be meant for a soulless monster such as me. Yet every time I look in her trusting, doe-like eyes, I am once again astounded by the adoration that I read within their depths. She has chosen me.

And now as she begins to shift around in my arms, I consider all that it has cost her, now that she has made that choice. She has faced enormous pain because a monster worse than myself decided that she would be the object of his hunt. I saw in his utterly dissolute mind that desire to kill for its own sake. Was her sweet blood worth anything to him beyond the transitory pleasure of success? She was merely a prize to be won in a game of his own devising.

"No, Sam," says Bella. "Edward good. All Cullens good. They do not kill people."

"Hush, darling, Sam isn't here," I say. "Sam never came near us today."

"Sam wants to kill you, kill all vampires," she mutters. "Thought you hurt me."

That was in the dream, I know. But I still feel the residual grief from the incident in Phoenix. Who wouldn't? A sweet and beautiful girl, the only girl in the world, says yes to you. And what does she get in return? Broken bones and bruises all over her body. As she lay broken and battered in the hospital, it was as if I had pit them there myself.

I spent the entire summer trying to make it up to her. I was never far from her, day or night, except when I was hunting. And at those times of separation, Alice stood watch in my place, tormenting poor Bella with shopping trips, makeovers, and other "girly" things. But none of this was enough to convince her that I was there to stay until the end of her life. If it were, the she would not be tormented very night by her irrational fear of my desertion.

Alice had seen the truth in her visions months ago. Either I would kill Bella by losing control with her and draining her of her precious life's blood or she would die to exist with me forever in this eternal night. The vision has never changed. A few weeks ago, when I came very close to satisfying her passionate urges and mine, Alice's vision of her death at my hands became clearer. I renewed my vow of self-control when she was in my arms.

Bella understands this as well. She is not ready for an accident to begin the changing process here in her bed. Nor does she wish to be crushed to death by an overeager vampire lover. The irony of her injury tonight was that as painful as the burn was, the burning if the transformation will be a million times more intense, a million times more painful.

But I won't tell her that. She experienced the burn in her other arm when James bit her. It would be better for her if that pain haunted her than these wretched dreams of abandonment and betrayal. Yet I am sure that her many accidents and injuries over the years have made her accept physical pain with great fortitude. It is her emotional fears that are presently destroying her sanity.

But I was truly beside myself. I somehow managed to hide my horror at her total lack of faith in me before I left her that morning. The necklace was a small token given to assure her of my deep and abiding love for her. She amused me with her naive belief that it was merely crystal. I had to tell her the truth. This love was forever. Once out of her presence, my amusement faded and the shame set in. I had failed her.

I raced home in minutes to tell the others of her terrible nightmare, her terrible vision. Alice was shocked that Bella would have distrusted her foresight. Jasper was distraught that she had so little faith in him. Esme rushed from one side to comfort me while Carlisle rushed from the other to confront me. Emmett was busy trying to get Rosalie under control. She was laughing heartily at the idea that Bella was afraid that she would lose me.

"You must agree to change her, or let me do it," demanded Carlisle. "It's the only way. This anxiety cannot go on. She must have been in agony when she awoke."

"She was," I admitted.

"You are blind, Edward!" Alice yelled at me. "Blind! How many times do I have to show you her future? Her fate was sealed the moment she saw you and you saw her. She is your mate. Stop being such a selfish ass!"

"It's not selfish to want to save her soul!" I replied angrily.

"It's not your soul to save," said Esme quietly. "It's hers. It has always been her choice. Instead of proving your love for her, you are holding her hopes and dreams hostage with your arrogance and pride. You are not God."

"I do not believe that I am God," I replied tensely. "I am not even sure that there is a God."

"God or no God," answered Carlisle sternly. "You cannot assume the lofty position of arbiter over life and death. You did that once before and it nearly destroyed you."

"At that time, I was killing the evil, the worst dregs of humanity," I replied. "I was seeking vengeance on those who preyed upon the innocent."

"It was not your place to judge," said Carlisle. "It was not their desire to die. You played judge, jury, and executioner."

"Bella is choosing to end her mortal existence in order to be with you in our world forever," added Esme quietly. "You almost lost her when she briefly came into contact with others of our kind. It nearly destroyed you."

"I will not lose my son because of a misguided attempt to dictate the terms of another's existence," said Carlisle. "You need to stop this insanity before Bella does something desperate, maybe even harmful."

"Nobody sane chooses this existence," said Rosalie.

"Bella is choosing it and there is no reason to believe that she is not perfectly sane," said Emmett. "Except for the fact that she loves my idiot brother."

Her voice breaks into my thoughts once again.

"Edward, where are you? Where did you go? The woods are getting dark."

Bella's voice, quivering with fear, breaks into my thoughts. Rather than try to hold her down, I loosen my arms. She sits up and looks around with unseeing eyes.

"Come back, Edward! I can't live without you! I need you!"

"Bella," I say softly as I brush her hair from her face. "I'm here. I'm always here."

She turns to me and rests her cheek against my shoulder.

"Cold, yes, cold is good," she murmurs. "Cold is Edward, my Edward. Hot. Sam was hot."

"Yes, love," I whisper softly. "I am your Edward, I belong to you. I will always belong to you. Have no fears. Go back to sleep."

"I love you with all my heart," she says and then looks up into my eyes.

Her lovely brown eyes are glistening with tears. I kiss them gently away.

"Do not feel sad, my love," I say. "I am here."

"I am not sad," she says. "I am safe."

"Yes, love," I say, as I recline with her again. "You are safe."

Her eyes flutter closed as I hum her lullaby once again. I feel her breathing fall into the even pattern of a deeper sleep. Vigilant once more, I turn my mind over to thoughts of her, trying to uncover an answer to the mystery of her delusions. There is none.

"My Edward," she whispers as she nestles closer.

"Your Edward," I reply as I tighten my arms around her

"Forever," she sighs.

"Forever," I agree.

She settles down once again. I lie in my sleepless state, ready to reassure her when she is troubled again.

_Author's Note: Just as I am reworking Edward and Bella to suit my new plot, I am also reinventing Jacob. What do you think so far? I don't want him to be the kind of stubborn jerk that he came off as (in my opinion) in the three later books. I liked the Jacob of the first book best._


	11. Helpless

**New Moon Rewound**

_Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use._

**Chapter 11: Helpless**

It is still dark, when I feel Bella stirring in my arms again. The night has been a continuous ebb and flow of semi-consciousness and sleep. For even when she appeared to be awake, she was still somewhat dazed. She was just barely able to process my words of love, assurance, and comfort for a few moments. Then she would drop off again and the cycle would begin once more. It was pretty stressful. At least I wasn't alone with her for the whole night. For about an hour around three am, Alice slipped in the window and stayed with me.

"She calls for you, even as she is clinging to you," she marveled. "She even seems to know that you are right there, and yet it sounds like she is afraid that she is alone."

"I know," I sighed. "You would think that she would finally have let go of that nightmare after I have assured her over and over again that we would always be together. We've even discussed it to the degree that we have begun to make plans for going away while not alerting her parents to the fact that she is never returning."

"And so many things that she thought were true have been proven to be false," she commented. "I wish that I could see into her mind as easily as I can see her future."

"Tell me about it," I grimaced. "I have never been able to see into her mind. But I have seen her future in your mind. It seems so odd that you can see the distant future, but not the immediate future."

"It is odd," she said. "But I suspect that it means that in the end she will be like us, but we have no way of knowing how she will get there. I suppose that all we can is focus on the ultimate result, and try not to obsess about what will happen tomorrow."

"I wonder why that is?" I asked. "Usually, it is things in the more immediate future that are more clear to you."

"I think that it is because she has no control over the nightmares," Alice answered. "What happens in her nightmares impacts the decisions that she is making during the day."

"That makes sense," I replied. "I just wish that it all didn't have to be so painful for her right now. I know that I have no reason to think that it us because of me. But I can't help but think that I am in some way responsible."

"Bella has never really believed that she was good enough for you," said Alice. "She doesn't think that she is pretty enough or smart enough. She told me that when the two of you are together people must think that you are cousins or something because you look so gorgeous and she doesn't."

"I'm afraid that people do think that," I admitted. "But that's because humans are so blind. There are just so many things that their limited vision cannot see."

"Edward!" called out Bella. "Where are you?"

"Right here, love," I said to sooth her. "Try to sleep. I will be here in the morning."

"Yes," she echoed. "In the morning."

She nestled more closely into my shoulder and curled her leg around mine. I couldn't really hold her tighter, since her hand needed to be kept free to avoid any accidental pain. But I stroked her hair and kissed her brow. She sighed and seemed to be breathing more easily.

"Poor girl," said Alice. "Something has her very frightened. It has to be about more than just losing you."

But whatever it is, neither if us could think of it. Alice left shortly after and I was left alone with my thoughts again. There are too many thoughts, too many regrets to count. I can't help but blame myself for this mess, as Carlisle does. The others are willing to give me the benefit of the doubt, but Carlisle has made no secret of the fact that he thinks that I have been behaving like a spoiled teenager.

I look out the window and see that the dark night is slowly fading into a grey morning. It will be another rainy day in Forks. I am grateful. If it were a bright, sunny day, I doubt that we could convince Bella to go to school. Suddenly, I can feel her moving around more strongly in my arms.

"Edward," she says, opening her eyes and yawning. "You're still here."

"Of course I am, love," I say. "I promised you, didn't I?"

"I know, but I always wonder . . . ow!" she says wincing. "My hand is killing me."

"I'm sure that it is," I reply. "That nasty burn hasn't healed overnight. Carlisle will stop off this afternoon and change the dressing for you. For now, you are going to have to settle for taking some Tylenol for the pain."

She grimaces.

"Charlie's beginning to wake up," I say, listening carefully. "I should get going."

I lean in to gently kiss her and then help to sit up and climb out of bed. She stumbles as her feet hit the floor and I have to grab her before she falls forward.

"Thanks," she says. "I'm glad that I slept through the night at least. No nightmares."

"No," I agree. "No nightmares. I'll be back before you know it."

I hit the ground and am heading home through the forest in seconds. I couldn't tell Bella that although she had no nightmares that she remembered, but she did have several. They all seemed to be the same thing: the fear that I was gone forever and didn't want her anymore. When I reach the house, Carlisle is on his way out to the hospital for his shift.

"How is her hand, Edward?" he asks before he steps into his car.

"It's pretty sore," I answer. "I told her to take some Tylenol for the pain. You'll be stopping off on the way home to check on it and change the bandage, won't you?"

_No, it's better if I don't. You should bring her here for the afternoon. Alice will tell you why._

He waves to me as he drives off. I go inside to find Alice, but her thoughts hit from upstairs. In her mind is a vision of Carlisle pulling up to Charlie's house, where Billy Black is waiting to confront him. It is impossible to know Billy's intent from the vision, but his face looks furious. I can see why Carlisle wants me to bring Bella over here.

"Hey, Edward!" says Alice cheerfully. "How is the patient?"

"In pain," I reply. "But nothing out of the ordinary for a second degree burn."

"How did she sleep after I left?" she asks.

"The same," I shrug. "She doesn't remember waking up a couple of times. And she doesn't know that she had any nightmares. I don't plan on disillusioning her."

"There's no point," sighs Alice. "So you know that we are bringing her here after school?"

"Carlisle told me," I answer. "But I don't know why Billy would want to see Carlisle so badly that he would go to Charlie's house to do it. He obviously can't come here and we can't go there, but he could call and set up a meeting."

"Maybe he wanted a neutral location with witnesses," answers Alice. "I can't tell what they would have talked about since the minute I told Carlisle about it, he decided not to go. The vision disappeared."

"So what I saw was a memory?"

"Yes, I knew that you would want to see it," she says. "Do you think that we should tell Bella?"

"I think that it would be a very bad idea," I say. "She was really spooked by her last nightmare about Billy. We don't need her having another one and waking up screaming about Billy. It's better if Charlie doesn't make a connection between Bella's nightmares about you being hurt and the confrontation with Jacob in the parking lot yesterday."

"Carlisle doesn't think that Billy will try to use Charlie to get you away from Bella," she comments.

"He's right," I reply. "I could hear his thoughts as I ran in. Billy can't say anything more to Charlie about us without revealing that some of the tribe's members can change into really huge wolves. One aspect of this whole situation is that both sides need to keep each other's secrets. It's really a benefit because it means that we have to keep matters between us. There won't be any collateral damage."

"Except Bella," corrects Alice.

I frown at the thought.

"Bella is being put in the middle by the Quileutes," I say. "She has made her choice. We don't want to cause any trouble with them. But they seem determined to stir it up from their side. And they don't seem to feel the least bit guilty about exploiting Jacob's feelings for Bella to get what they want. You would think that Billy cared more about his son.

"I really wish that I had the chance to hear Billy's thoughts. I learned a lot from Sam yesterday, but it's the council that is really pulling the strings. Of course, there is also Harry Clearwater. He's Charlie's good friend and obviously knows just as much as Billy. I might get an idea from his thoughts if I were ever close enough to hear them."

"But so far he hasn't been involved in this at all," says Alice. "And I don't see him coming anywhere near Charlie."

"We have time to talk about it later," I say. "Right now I have to get changed so that we can pick up Bella for school."

It's a simple enough matter of finding a new pair of jeans to put on with a white tee shirt and flannel shirt over. To deflect the rain, I throw on a leather jacket. When I come down the stairs Alice looks at me with approval.

"After more than fifty years you are finally learning how to dress yourself," she remarks. "Very hipster, it suits you. I like it."

"So does Bella," I answer with a grin. "I could always get a pair of those bogus glasses. After generations of kids trying to avoid being 'four eyes,' who ever thought that one would grow up to think that they are cool? Too bad I can't grow a scruffy beard."

She shakes her head as we grab our backpacks with the books we never need and go out to the Volvo. Within a few minutes, we are pulling up in front of Charlie's house. But we don't even get completely out of the car before Charlie is at the door.

"Alice!" he says. "Thank goodness you came too! Bella really needs help getting ready for school. She can't manage with her hand all bandaged up. We should have thought of that last night."

"No problem," says Alice giving me a smirk that tells me that she knew this when she got in the car but was hiding it from me.

She skips to the front door at human speed and then flies up the stairs once she is past Charlie.

"So Edward," he says affably, as I meander more slowly up the walk. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee while we wait for the girls to come down?"

"No, thanks, Charlie," I reply. "I just had breakfast."

_Yeah, he really is a nice guy. He's not a mooch like some of those kids out there, real polite too._

"So do you have any big tests that you are worried about for today?" he asks as he tries to make conversation.

_What the hell do you say to one of the biggest geniuses in the school? He might be going to Harvard next year, while I barely made it through high school._

"No," I answer. "I have one quiz in calculus and another one in physics."

_Calculus and physics? I barely sweated my way through algebra and chemistry. Maybe we can talk about English class._

"So you guys are reading _Romeo and Juliet_ in English class," he says. "Are you a fan of Shakespeare?"

"Yes, I am," I say truthfully. "But I've never really been a fan of _Romeo and Juliet."_

_Okay, I can deal with this._

"Why not?" he asks.

"Well, I have a hard time believing that Romeo could be such a . . . dip," I say searching for some slang. "He falls in love in two seconds and then gets married and makes up the crazy scheme to escape with his girl by faking her death. And then in the end everyone _really _dies for no reason."

"So, then," he says, silently agreeing with my analysis of the plot's shortcomings. "What is your favorite play?"

_"Hamlet," _I answer, having picked his favorite out of his head. "There's something about it that's very compelling."

"Yeah," he says, even though he has never read it, only having seen movie versions. "I agree. So which version did you like best, the one with Lawrence Olivier or the one with Kenneth Brannagh?"

"Oh, the more recent one," I say, once again choosing _his _favorite."

"Oh, really," he says, leaning comfortably back in his chair. "What did you like best about it?"

"Well, the sets and costumes were amazing," I reply. "The black and white version had a certain atmosphere to it, but I thought that Olivier really overdid it."

"He usually did," nods Charlie. "Ever see _Spartacus?_ He was really over the top playing that, um, general guy."

"Hasn't everyone?" I respond. "I've always wondered why in those old movies the wealthy people or the Romans had the British accents, and the poor people, the slaves, and the non-Romans always had American accents."

_Wow! I never thought about that before. Sharp kid. And not just with the book stuff. Knows something about movies too._

"I never realized that," he says. "But the good guys always did have the American accents. Do you have any ideas about that?"

I am saved from answering that question by the sound of the girls coming downstairs. It is a point, which Carlisle and I have been debating ever since the movies began coming out. Some of our discussions have been quite sophisticated and I didn't have enough time to simplify one for Charlie so that I wouldn't sound too pompous. It's good to know that Charlie and I both like old movies. I can use it as a conversation starter in the future.

"Well, you're looking a lot better today, Bells," he says. "You know Alice, maybe you could come over everyday and fix her up for school."

Alice beams happily while Bella glowers. But Alice has "helped" her look a lot better than she did yesterday. Her hair is brushed so it is like glossy silk, and pulled back in a hair band. She is wearing a pair of chinos and a bright colored, tee shirt. She even let Alice put a little blush and lipstick on her to hide that fact that she is paler than usual.

"I think that I look fine everyday," grumbles Bella.

"Sure you do, honey," Charlie assures her. "How does the hand feel?"

"Pretty sore," she admits. "I took some Tylenol like Carlisle told me to last night, but it still hurts."

"Let me get you some breakfast," I say getting up. "Cheerios and orange juice?"

Bella nods, looking uncomfortable at the attention.

"The breakfast of champions," adds Charlie cheerfully.

_What a great guy! He offers to make her breakfast and everything. How many guys would do that with his sister standing there? Uh oh, I have to get to work._

"Okay, kids," says Charlie. "I've got to get to work. Will you be here when I get home?"

"Carlisle wants to check out Bella when he gets home," says Alice. "Would you mind if Bella came over to our house after school?"

"Sure, no problem," he says.

_I hope they bring her back in time for Alice to take care of her. I sure as hell can't help her take a shower._

"Do you mind if Bella stays for dinner?" I ask, giving Alice a significant look. "I promise we won't keep her out late."

"I'll come too and help her get ready for bed," Alice chimes in.

"Great, Alice!" Charlie says, visibly relieved. "See you later! Have a good day, Bells!"

"I'll try," she replies with a defiant edge to her voice, as she stands up and gives him a kiss goodbye. He walks out, thinking how glad he is that she has Alice and I to take care of her.

As soon as he drives away, she turns to us and glares.

"You are driving me crazy!" she complains loudly. "You are treating me like I'm incapable of doing anything for myself! I only burned my hand for crying out loud!"

"Bella," says Alice patiently. "This isn't a little first degree burn that you can put some cream on and let heal. It's a major second-degree burn that has pretty much rendered your right hand useless, and you are right-handed. You have to keep it clean and carefully covered to avoid infection. And admit it, you are in a lot of pain."

Bella crumples down into her chair and begins to cry. I can't tell if it is from pain, a poor night's sleep, frustration with her incapacity, or a combination of all three. I sit back down beside her, put my arm around her shoulder, and kiss her hair. This only makes her sob louder.

"What's wrong with me?" she asks when she has managed to gulp back most of her sobs.

"You're overtired, in pain, and sick of having everyone take care of you," I suggest. "And just when you thought that you were getting a handle on things, this happens. I'm glad that Charlie was here when this happened."

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Because Billy did quite a number on Charlie's head when you were injured back in March in Phoenix," I answer. "He tried to insinuate that I was somehow the cause of your injury and that Carlisle and Alice were covering for me. It was the basis of his mistrust of me, not the fact that you left Forks in an attempt to get away from me."

"But now Edward is the hero, so to speak," adds Alice. "It is going to make everything easier. And can't you see that the more we take care of you and support you, the higher our stock goes with Charlie?"

"Sort of," she admits.

"In the end it's very important that Charlie sees our family as loving you and wanting to take care of you," she continues. "Sometime in about a year-and-a-half or so, you are going to drop out of Charlie's life forever. It will be easier for him to handle if he knows that you are with us and we have always taken good care of you. And he know that we always will. And admit it, Bella. You do need taking care of."

"It's not like he's ever really done that," Bella replies a little bitterly. "In fact, I'm the one who takes care of him."

"Yes," I say. "And right now he is feeling guilty as hell because of it. He is regretting that he never had much time with you as a kid and that he could never send you much by the way of money addition to his child support. But he was barely managing to eek out an existence here for himself."

"I never felt that way," she replies. "I know that his financial resources were always limited, but so were my Mom's, at least until she married Phil. I never expected anything more than I had."

"Maybe you can tell him that sometime," replies Alice. "But we have to get to school quickly or we will be late."

Bella puts her mostly uneaten bowl of cereal in the sink. I pick her backpack. When we walk out of the house, Alice puts her arm around her and I open the door for her. She meekly gets in, and looks out the window thoughtfully the whole way to school. When we get there, Alice disappears, while I walk with Bella to English at human speed. When we walk in the room late, Mr. Berty glares at us and then notices Bella's heavily bandaged hand.

"Miss Swan," he says, immediately forgetting our tardiness. "What in the world happened to you?"

"I burned my hand on the oven last night making dinner," she answers ruefully. "I'm sorry. It's my fault that we were late."

"Think nothing of it," he says motioning for us to sit down.

As he returns to his lecture on _Romeo and Juliet,_ his thoughts about Bella are swirling in his mind.

_She is either the unluckiest or clumsiest person that I have ever met. That must be one heck of a burn to be wrapped up like that. I wonder how she got it. At least she looks better than yesterday morning. She must be going through a difficult time. _

_And look at Mr. Cullen so solicitously caring for her. He's stopping her from trying to take notes. After class I will privately mention to her that it is perfectly acceptable for her to share his notes. I don't want to call attention to her again._

Despite his rather dull lecture and relatively shallow insights on the nature of Shakespeare's writing, I notice that his insights into the nature of Bella Cullen are spot on. At the end of class, he calls her aside and gives her his message about the note taking. Considering her foul mood this morning, Bella is able to get out a gracious thank you.

I carry her backpack to her desk in math. When Jessica sees us, at first she sneers, but when she sees Bella's hand, she flinches at the sight of the huge bandage.

"I'll see you at the end of class," I murmur to Bella after I set out her books. "Don't try to manage by yourself."

"Okay," she says quietly.

Through Jessica's eyes, I can see her gaze at me longingly as I leave the room. Then, unfortunately, I have to listen to Jessica's interior monologue.

_I wonder what happened to her? Of course, she's not going to say anything. Why does she always hide behind her hair anyway? At least she brushed it this morning. I wonder how she dressed herself with that hand? _

_She looks very put together, for her anyway. I bet Alice helped her. She's probably just looking for more attention from Edward anyway._ _As if she really has to try anyway. He's so moronically in love with her that . . ._

I switch over to Varner's head. I can't take anymore. Through his eyes, I can see Bella slouched in her chair looking like she'd rather have a root canal.

_Oh, great! Now she can't even take notes! She's having enough problems as it is. Good thing she's dating Cullen. Maybe he can explain this to her._

No, that isn't going to work either. I am determined not to lose track of her for an instant. Fortunately, one of Bella's peripheral friends, Katie Marshall is also in the class. She has her mind divided between Eric and calculus, but at least her thoughts are tolerable. She mostly trying to decide what movie they should see on their second date on Saturday night.

If the US Education Department really knew what American students were thinking about during their classes, they might despair of ever rising any higher in the international tables of student achievement. By the end of class, Bella is sagging in her chair and leaning her head on her left hand.

_Edward, she's going to pass out. She didn't eat enough for breakfast._

Alice's voice breaks into my head as the bell rings. I sprint out the door, frustrated to no end by the necessity of human speed. By the time I get to the classroom, Alice is also there and Bella is on the floor. Naturally all the students are crowded around her.

"Please get out of the way," calls Alice from behind them. "Edward has some EMS training. He knows what to do. Besides, Bella needs air and you are suffocating her."

I hear a cacophony of thoughts as the bodies part so that I can get near Bella. Katie has a water bottle that she pushes into my hand.

"Thanks," I say, grateful that someone in the room has a clear head.

"Bella," I say gently, as I left her shoulders up. "Can you hear me?"

"Edward," she mumbles. "What . . . "

I feel Alice kick me, and interrupt her before she can say what she intends, which is something along the lines of, "You're still here. Please don't leave me ever again."

"Bella," I say quickly. "You fainted in math class. Here, have some water! I knew that you should have eaten more for breakfast."

I put the water bottle to her lips and she takes a few swallows. She opens her eyes and shakes her head as if she is trying to get her bearings. Then she sits up by herself.

The clapping that ensues causes her to turn a brilliant shade of red and Alice to roll her eyes. It's like Bella is a player down on the sports field who had just gotten up.

"Okay, people," says Mr. Varner standing uselessly off to the side. "The show is over. Mr. Cullen, I think that you should help her get to the nurse."

I deftly pick her up, as Alice grabs her backpack. As we are walking down the hallway, Alice's mind is buzzing.

_That was a close call. This is the first time that Bella's delusions have made an appearance outside of the house. What should we do now?_

I cut my eyes over to her and say, too quietly and rapidly for human ears to hear, "Get her to the nurse."

Once Bella is safe, I will have time to think. Once again, I am annoyed by the need to progress at human speed. When we finally reach the front office, Alice opens the door and I walk rapidly past Mrs. Cope and into the nurse's office to lay her down on the couch.

_Oh, my word, what has happened to Bella now? And how can a tiny little thing like Alice manage those two heavy backpacks?_

"Ditch the backpacks," I mutter to Alice, who promptly drops them to the floor and begins to dramatically rub her arm and shoulder as if she has just performed a seriously arduous task.

"What have we here?" asks the nurse. "Oh, Bella, honey! What have you done to yourself now?"

She is looking at her hand. Bella looks at her with annoyance.

"Do you mean what did I do to my hand?" she asks. "Or what have I done _now _to get myself in here?"

"Both," replies the nurse, by now used to Bella's prickly attitude whenever she lands up in her office.

"I burned my hand cooking dinner last night," Bella explains. "Dr. Cullen patched me up. But I didn't eat enough breakfast this morning, so I guess that I fainted in math class."

"She did faint in math class," says Mrs. Cope coming in. "Mr. Varner just called to make sure that she got here all right."

"Well, how is your hand feeling?" asks the nurse.

"It hurts," she admits. "But I am sure that if I have a good lunch, I'll fine for the rest of the day."

Now Bella looks at me pleadingly. Alice shows me that if she goes back to class this afternoon, she should be fine. She also shows her eating a good lunch.

"She's coming home with us this afternoon so that my father can look at her again," I say. "And change the bandage. Alice and I will make sure that she has a good lunch."

_And then you will with her for her afternoon classes. You made sure if that when you badgered me last month until I scheduled you two together for everything except math._

Mrs. Cope is remembering my trip to her office in August, when I refused to leave until she changed the schedules. It had taken quite a bit of persuasion on my part and creativity on her part to make it happen since very often the classes were tracked around math placements. One glance at the master schedule and I had the solution. But I had to guide her through the process, making her think that the changes were her idea.

After drinking a glass of orange juice, Bella is able to stand up and walk steadily on her own. The nurse permits us to go, promising Bella not to call Charlie. Alice rolls her eyes at me and shows me a vision of her calling the minute that we leave the office. But Charlie won't come to school. No doubt he knows that I will take care if her until I get her home to Carlisle.

Alice coaxes her into eating something looking and smelling pretty nasty called fish sticks and some goop called macaroni and cheese, along with two bottles of lemonade. I can't remember ever enjoying that kind of food when I was human. Of course there weren't all these processed foods in 1918. If you ate fish, it actually looked like fish. But by the time she is done, Bella actually has some color in her cheeks. She smiles wanly at us.

"I'm acting pretty much like a bitch today, aren't I?" she asks.

"Pretty much," agrees Alice. "But I would say that we can attribute that to your physical pain and emotional anxiety. Do you feel well enough to finish your classes or do you want to ditch?"

"After the spectacle that I made of myself in math class," answers Bella. "Ditching is probably not a good idea."

"No it's not," I say, looking at the vision in Alice's mind of Charlie freaking out when the school calls to tell him that she disappeared.

"Okay," says Alice. "You're right. Bad idea."

After we go our separate ways, Bella leans a little more heavily on my arm.

"Can't I do anything right these days?" she asks glumly.

"Do you love me?" I ask playfully.

"Yes, of course," she says with a note of injury in her voice.

"You do that right," I say grinning, as I kiss the top of head. "You do that very right."

Satisfied, she walks towards class with a little more enthusiasm. Despite the fact that I have set her mind at ease for the moment, I am still very concerned. It isn't her actions that have me worried. It's her mind and the way it continues to distort things in the world around her.

I can't imagine what is going on in there. I have gone from frustrated by the density of her brain to scared about what it may be thinking next. How can I help her if I don't know what going on? She feels helpless and out of control in her life. I am beginning to feel helpless to do anything to reassure her that everything is going to be all right.

_Author's Note: It is important to remember that at this point, the Cullens have no idea that Bella is any kind of a shield, since both Alice's and Jasper's gifts work on her. It is only Edward who can't read her thoughts._

_Sorry this took so long! I loaded it on to Doc Manager, but never posted it! I didn't realized until I checked as to why I hadn't gotten any reviews. Sorry about that! I do love your reviews, even if I can't answer each one. They really help guide me throug the story._

_I hope that you think that this was worth the wait. If you don't see a chapter for a bit, don't think that I am abandoning the story! My oldest daughter is getting married next weekend, so I am going to be busy, busy, busy!_


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